Loving you is killing me
by concierge-of-espionage
Summary: What if the infamous Joe Solomon brought someone along with him to Gallagher Academy? What if that person was Rachel's twin sister? Follow along with the adventures of Melantha as a Gallagher Alumni with the ability to find trouble as if she were still the senior that singed Professor Isles' eyebrows. (helps to have read the books but not really necessary I guess). Enjoy!
1. Queen

Is it true that you got the nickname 'Queen' because the Queen of England secretly gave you her crown during a jewel heist at the Castle?" Rebecca Baxter asked and I sat up straighter in my chair.  
"No." I said, hoping a short response and my stiff posture would stop her, but Rebecca was as much her father as she was her mother.  
"I heard that you convinced a Swedish model to smuggle illegal bullets into America by hiding them in her silicon breats."  
"Silicon doesn't hide bullets."  
"What about the rumor that you diffused a bomb at the Pentagon using only used gum and a shoelace?"  
"Rebecca. If you can leave me alone for how ever long it takes me to finish this report, I will tell you all about the time Joe was put up for auction as a sex slave in Kenya. Deal?" I asked, knowing that Bex was a spy at heart and couldn't resist any chance of gaining knowledge- especially about someone she didn't know well.  
She didn't say anything, but instead sat down on the expensive couch to my left. I tossed a glance to Joe, who hadn't offered much to help to me out, only to find he was smirking back at me. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the report.  
 _Operatives McDreamy and Devil's Advocate entered the estate..._ Two hours worth of work and that was my outstanding work so far. Two pages of unadulterated "fun"... and I hadn't even made it to the SNAFU yet. Joe was probably typing away at the exact scenario that lead me to be hanging upside down in a Russian dignitaries office and Joe hiding under his desk while said dignitary was having a go with his mistress on top of said desk.  
I could hear the steady strum of his fingers on the keyboard, and each confident stroke made me more resentful and angry. I didn't even want to go one this dammed mission. There should be a rule. If you didn't want to do it, you shouldn't have to fill out paper on it when everything went to hell.  
I switched tabs on my computer and sighed. My home screen was a single dazzling shot of my husband, Warren. simple so people wouldn't ask but lovely enough to make me smile. Although I loved the home screen, I loved my other photos more. Pictures of me in my Gallagher uniform and him in his Blackthorne uniform. one of us at the beach. I was in his arms and he was kissing my neck, the sun had just been going down and allowed for the most breathtaking photo I'd ever seen. Despite how beautiful that photo was, my favorite was the most heart breaking. He was wearing scrubs and I was in a hospital gown. I had just given birth to Mathew Joseph Solomon... my five pound premature baby. Warren and I were both crying in the photo, but not from tears of happiness. We knew he wouldn't make it through the night, but the knowledge didn't make it any less harder. I flipped to the last photo, the one that made me the happiest. Abby snuck into our hotel room while we were both sleeping (something nobody had been able to do, and I'm still convinced she did by setting up a wireless camera at the foot of the bed) and snapped a picture. His roght arm was over my side and his left was holding my head so I would stay muzzled into his body. The picture was perfect. So raw and beautiful... and personal.  
I took one last look at the photo before going back to my report. Yet again, Warren had given me the extra push to keep going. It felt like I was always just short of have enough energy. I put myself in go and began to dance sporadically across the keyboards, using a technique I developed in eighth grade... If you don't know what you're doing, impress them with big words. It always works.


	2. Double Threat

Somehow, after finishing my report and falling asleep on the keyboard, I was shaken awake by Joe. Except, the white fluffy clouds were replaced by manicured lawns and tall walls. Not only had he carried me from the plane to the car, but now he expected me to be presentable to the entire student body and my sister in a matter of minutes? He obviously did.  
I pulled a small mirror out of my satchel and checked myself. Some, self made, hairspray fixed the loose hairs from my bun back into theor places and some light makeup hide my tired look. I pointedly ignored Joe's stares and Rebecca's eyes going back and forth between Joe and I. Something a lot of people did and assumed. At the door, we were greeted by kitchen staff who informed us we were late.  
I wasn't able to absorb my hold home like I hoped to. Be able to walk around a reminisce. I would probably do it later when everyone was asleep. I didnt like to be tracked and watched by others. As we got closer to the hall, I couldn't help but remember how much easier it was for me to learn languages than it was for my friends. The only language I couldn't do for my life, was Spanish and therefor any variation of. It took my 16 years to become fluent in Spanish but now that I knew it, I wouldn't forget it.  
We all could here Ray's 'welcome back' speech as we got within a few feet of the door. Instead of waiting, Joe and I continued straight through the doors. Joe gave me a look and a nod, and I noticed even though I was scanning the crowd. I noticed Rebecca slip from behind us to her friends. I noticed Ray's big smile. Worst of all, I noticed the hot glances every girl in the room was throwing toward Joe. I sighed, but Joe was oblivious as he sent a wink toward Ray. Seeing my twin sister made everything okay. I turned up my award winning smile, and tossed my arm around his shoulder.  
"Sorry we're late." Joe said with a smirk, and a pain hit me hard when I seen Warren in him for a second.  
Momentarily, I entertained the thought of leaving the great hall. I used to feel safe here, but now I felt like an invader as the new sisters sat and scrutinized us. We made it to the staff table without any incident of me trying to make a run for it. As soon as Ray's arms were around me, I was glad I didn't bolt. I may- or may not have- spent two weeks being tortured in a Russian prison, then break out using a belt and some bread- but I couldn't break out of Ray's vice grip.  
"I missed you to, Ray." I said after she gave me a particularly rough squeeze that told me she wasn't letting go until she regained her composur.  
After dinner was over, I excused myself from hours of endless interrogation by Rachel and the staff by claiming to be Jet Lagged. Joe wasn't able to use the same excuse, but he wouldn't anyway- since this allowed him to be with Rachel for a while.  
I easily found my room. It was almost exactly the same as the room I had slept in for six whole years, but it was missing my three roomates. Grace, Rachel and Catherine. It seemed bigger now that I was the only one in here. My bags were already on my bed. Two duffel bags that I wouldn't unpack... I was always ready to leave and start over. It was a habit Rachel meant to break by offering Joe and I a job here. She wanted Joe to teach Cove-ops and me to teach seduction. Well, she called it 'skills-ops', where girls learned how to be women.  
I scooted myself into bed and kicked my bags until the fell off with a resounding bang causing me to flinch. I dug through my bag and grabbed hold of a worn of picture in a slick black frame. I used to carry the photo in pocket until Solomen convinced me that a frame would preserve it longer. I placed my lips against the glass and felt several different emotions course through my body at once. I didnt want to cry, so I placed the frame under my pillow next to the gun that was confiscated when I entered Gallagher Academy.  
"Goodnight, Warren."  
Sleeping wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I kept tossing and turning, until I grabbed one of my bags and threw it across the room with a scream of frustration. I was going on three hours of sleep in three days, and despite being trained to stay awake for days... I was exhausted. Was I to cold? Was I to hot? No. No.  
I finally gave up trying to sleep in my bed, and walked into the bathroom. I found it was easier to sleep in a bathtub when I couldn't get to sleep in a bed. I climbed in and huddled myself into a ball, if I was lucky- nobody would find me here.


	3. Cove-Ops

The next morning, I skipped breakfast, kind of (but breakfast isn't always a five star chef making Bacon, especially when you've lived off of jerky for three months) . I could imagine all of the covert operation students deciding between food or primping for their first lesson with the handsome Joe Solomen. Joe had agreed to meet me at the Elevator, but after fifteen minutes of waiting, I decided to go down. You think a spy would know the importance of time management. My eye was scanned by the mirror and the mirror slid open to show an elevator. I could've gotten in with bubble gum and a toothpick, but I didn't have either objects nor the patience.  
I took in sub-level one after I left the elevator, remembering that my last day here had involved an "accident" with chloroform, acid and the teacher's eyebrows. They were still in a desk formation- which I hated as a kid, and I would suggest to Joe that we make everything more clinical and together.  
As I sat down, I remembered there was a lab in one of the doors behind the desk. I quickly stood again, walking to the door I was most sure of and was happy to find it unlocked. I had wondered for years what lay behind the solid silver door, and I was only a little disapointed. Hundreds of files laid on one side of the room, which I could only assume as the mildly classified missions. One the otherside, there were boxes of weapons and other machines. I reached into the nearest box and grabbed a cold weapon. A AK-47 I guessed, and I was right.  
The first time I held one of these was in eighth grade. I found them in the p&e building and somehow managed to put half of it together before Professor Buckingham found me, yelled at me, then instructed me on how to finish it. She made a deal with me after that. If I kept straight A's throughout my years at Gallagher and improved my attitude, she would personally teach me to assemble any weapon of my choice. I graduated Valedictorian.  
It wasn't long before I heard the elevator ding, telling me the someone was trying to come down. I tossed the disassembled weapon into the box and left the room, making sure everything was exactly the same before I sat on a table in the darkest corner of the room.  
It was ten minutes before the class started, but a large group of girls were already walking in. Slowly more girls trickled in, including Rebecca and Cameron. The last to come in about five minutes before class was a small petite blonde who no way belonged here second semester.  
Joe Solomon was late, and I realized he might have been late on purpose. Or he had a late night with Ray... ew. I guess the silence became too much for the daughter of Amy Walters, because she leaned across the aisle and said, "Cammie, what do you know about them?"  
Cameron only knew what Rebecca had told her, which wasn't much. Joe and I were classified, but she was trapped under an avalanche of questions like, "Where are they from?" and "Is that woman his girlfriend?" and "Is it true he killed a Turkish ambassador with a thong and she tricked a drug lord into selling Hawaiian necklaces instead of Coke?"  
Both were true, and Cameron didn't know that but Tina wasn't letting up.  
"Come on," Tina said, "I heard Madame Dabney telling Chef Louis that your mom was working on them all summer to get them to take the job. You had to hear something!"  
Suddenly, Joe Solomon strolled into class like he owned it—five minutes late.  
His hair was slightly damp, his white shirt neatly pressed— something I had done for him before we left on the plane. He didn't wast time before asking questions.  
"What is the capital of Brunei?"  
"Bandar Seri Begawan," they replied.  
"The square root of 97,969 is …" he asked in Swahili.  
"Three hundred and thirteen," The petite blonde- Elizabeth I think- answered... she was a little mathemation.  
"A Dominican dictator was assassinated in 1961," he said in Portuguese. "What was his name?"  
In unison, they all said "Rafael Trujillo."  
They were smart, but not good and I could tell they were getting comfortable before Joe said, "Close your eyes," in Arabic.  
They did as they were told to do. This is where Joe would make a fool of them.  
"What color are my shoes?" This time he spoke in English and "amazingly" thirteen Gallagher Girls sat there quietly without an answer.  
black and green.  
"Am I right-handed or left-handed?" he asked, but didn't pause for a response, but I knew he was ambidextrous.  
"Since I walked into this room I have left fingerprints in five different places. Name them!" he demanded, but was met with empty silence.  
The wall, the table, his tie, the desk and a folder.  
"What color shirt is the woman in the back of class wearing?" He asked, and shock spread over their faces- none of them had seen me.  
"Open your eyes," he demanded once he was sitting on his desk, but they all turned to me for a moment.  
I was by no means a chameleon, even though I could fake it well, but these girls were not as trained as they believed they were.  
"Yep," he said. "You girls are pretty smart. But you're also kind of stupid." Joe loved to insult Gallagher Girls, but he was their biggest fan.  
"Ladies, I'm going to get you ready for what goes on." He paused and pointed upward. "Out there. It's not for everyone, and that's why I'm going to make this hard on you. Damn hard. Impress me, and next year those elevators might take you one floor lower. But if I have even the slightest suspicion that you are not supremely gifted in the area of fieldwork, then I'm going to save your life right now and put you on the Operations and Research track." He stood and placed his hands in his pockets. "Everyone starts in this business looking for adventure, but I don't care what your fantasies look like, ladies. If you can't get out from behind those desks and show me something other than book smarts, then none of you will ever see Sublevel Two."  
I took one moment before a beefy hand flew into the air. "Does that mean you'll be teaching us firearms, sir?" she shouted.  
I didnt let Joe answer, "In this business, if you need a gun, then it's probably too late for one to do any good." The girls turned to me, "But on the bright side," I told her, "maybe they'll bury you with it—that's assuming you get to be buried." My heart burned and I could see Joe looking at me, but I wouldn't look back.  
"The lucky ones come home, even if it is in a box." He said, turning away but it still hurt.  
"Get good, ladies. Or get dead." Joe finished but just then, a skinny redhead pushed through the frosted-glass doors and stood panting in front of the class.  
"I'm sorry," she said to Mr. Solomon, still gasping for breath. "The stupid scanners didn't recognize me, so the elevator locked me in, and I had to listen to a five-minute prerecorded lecture about trying to sneak out of bounds, and…" Her voice trailed off as she studied Joe and his very unimpressed expression, which I thought was a little hypocritical coming from a man who had been five minutes late himself.  
"Don't bother taking a seat," Mr. Solomon said as Anna started toward a desk in the back of the room. "Your classmates were just leaving."  
They all looked at their recently synchronized watches, which showed the exact same thing— forty-five minutes of class time left. Forty-five valuable and never-wasted minutes, if I remembered correctly.  
Elizabeth's hand shot into the air and I could probably guess her question.  
"Yes?" Joe sounded like someone with far better things to do, and I giggled lightly.  
"Is there any homework?" she asked, and the class turned instantly from shocked to irritated.  
"Yes," Solomon said, holding the door in the universal signal for get out.  
"Notice things." I finished for him and the late girl jumped- she hadn't noticed me either.


	4. Gallagher Glares and confessions

A/N: Sorry everyone, this is my first story so I'm not used to keeping a schedule when i post. This is the longest chapter I've posted so far. Also, sorry about the format but it doesn't post the same way I wrote with it. Hope you like it! -Shay

AA/N: The other week is read a tweet Allie sent out. Something about writing a 15000 week. I sort of stopped what I was doing, writing a chapter for this story coincidentally, and started laughing. I can barely write a 15000 word month.

* * *

Joe and I rode the elevator in an understanding silence. He knew I didn't want to speak until I was ready, and I knew he wouldn't start first. Once we stepped off the Elevator, I began walking toward Ray's, but Joe stopped me.  
"Let's walk around?" He asked and I nodded, we hadn't seen each other in three years before this last mission- and it wasn't on good terms that we parted.  
"We should talk about Venice." I said and he nodded in agreement, but said nothing else... neither of us wanted to do this, but we needed to.  
"This is were you and I met." Joe said suddenly, grabbing my arm to point to a statue.  
"Abby snuck you and Warren in to meet up with me and Rachel. Then we all went to Rosewood for the night." I said, more clarifying than stating and he nodded.  
"Then you didn't see us until graduation. Warren and I didn't have sneak around since you both invited us... that was a good day." He said.  
It seemed like so long ago that Ray and I were entering into the CIA. They called us the double threat until Abby came along. Then we were the Holy Trinity.  
Before either of us could say anything else, the school began to blare with loud sirens of a code red. The first time we had one if these when I was in school was junior year when someone rosewood boys got on the property. A few cups of tea had them all forgetting the ass kicking they got from us.  
"I wonder what that's about." Joe said, but I was already headed for the window at the front of the school, I had seen the gate open.  
At the window I seen Cameron, Rebecca and Rachel at the window talking to what looked like one of the most influential families in America.  
"McHenry's?" We both said at the same time.  
Sure we were curious, but we knew Rachel would be in the middle of a mess so we didn't want to bother her just yet. We made one full trip around the academy before coming upon a disaster in the Chemical Lab which was exactly one hall away from Cameron, Rebecca and Macey. Joe and I looked to each-other, and knew to start a diversion- all though Professor Smith's slurring was quiet repulsing and distracting.  
"Hello." Joe said, using every bit of charm he ever had and Macey immediately batted her eyes at him.  
"Welcome to Gallagher Academy. We hope you will consider joining us." I added, smiling brightly, but none of them paid me the slightest attention- not even my niece and god daughter.  
I knew Joe was getting attention for obvious reasons, so I allowed him to take control of the tour. I tried to stay behind the girls, but Joe made sure I was next to him the whole time. I knew it was annoying to Macey McHenry because she had a glare on me constantly. After the little tour, I retired back to my room even thought it was only two in the afternoon. Maybe yoga would do me some good.  
The next day, Joe woke me up bright and early to do some body conditioning excersizes, and I was more than reluctant to go out in shorts and a bra while the girls ogled Joe. A girls school wasn't any fun for a hot woman. I know I can't do anything with any young men, but the looks they give make me feel sexy and young. When nobody looks at you, but at the guy next to you- it doesn't help with the ego.  
"We're going to rosewood." He told me as I slipped my shirt off- the bra I'm wearing is good enough for jogging in.  
"Only if we're doing yoga to." I said, and he nodded like it was killing him.  
"We're jogging from her to rosewood, do yoga in the park, then run back. Maybe we spar in the P&E barn" Joe said and I agreed, maybe an hour or two max.  
We didn't start jogging until we hit the road, but it wasn't jogging for long. We began going faster and faster, trying to slightly out run eachother until we were just racing each-other. The wind through my hair and the world passing in a flash brought a much needed smile to my face- not to mention all the looks I was receiving when we actually made it into town.  
Joe nudged me as we rolled out some borrowed mats onto the ground, then pointed in the distance to a sign that announced a carnival coming to town in a couple weeks.  
"Show the Gallagher Girls a good time?" I said and he grinned.  
I never liked yoga, which is probably why I got bored half way through and began messing with Joe. He stopped his perfectly formed Downward doggie to sigh petulantly at me.  
"Do you want to head back to Gallagher? We can get something sweet and walk back." Ah, Joe knew me so well.  
"Excellent, but do they even have sweets in this God forsaken town? I seen a family owned pharmacy down the street. Abrhams and son. Does that sound like the kind of place that sells sweets?" I giggled before noticing the glared we were getting from the townspeople, and realized just how loud we were speaking.  
"Oops," Joe laughed with me before finishing his sentence, "and sounds like the exact place that sell sweets."  
He grabbed my hand and forced me to run in order to keep up with him until we reached said pharmacy.  
"Joe, neither of us have any money." I stated as we walked up the candy isle (apparently was a great place for candy)  
"To bad neither of us are spies with kickass thievery skills," He said solemnly but then sarcasm came over his face, "Oh wait."  
Once he had his candy, he turned to me. "Are you going to get anything?" He asked and I shook my head, holding in a deep breath to prevent myself from laughing.  
Although Joe and I were by no means 'chameleons', nobody gave us a second look as we stepped out of the store. It wasn't until we we're walking away from the store that I made Joe stop so I could grab gummy worms out of his pocket. His eyes were bewildered, and I couldn't stop laughing at the look. I was the best con artist of my class and he never seemed to learn that.  
The walk home was nice, the sun was shining and the wind was blowing. A perfect sunny day. We walked in silence, except for the occasional joke from Joe and snorts of laughter. He was nothing like his brother, but Joe was a good man.  
"So... you and Rachel." I started, not really asking or stating but merely putting it out there.  
"No, not Rachel and I. I think she's still in love with Matt." He said, and I stopped walking for a moment... I hadn't heard him so sincere and humble since the night we found out Matt was officially KIA.  
"Of course Rachel is still in love with Matt. He was her first love, but he's gone. I can tell you that she isn't over him, but she's also capable of loving again. I don't know when Joe, but she won't make the first move when that time comes." I told him, giving him a smile and he nodded as if he was taking it to heart.  
"You went off grid after Venice." Joe mentioned and I sighed, I knew deep talk would bring up the subject.  
"I needed... time." I admitted hoping he would drop it, but this was Joe Solomon- spy extraordinaire.  
"It wasn't your fault. Warren would've gone on the mission if you had been there or not." He informed me, trying to console me by rubbing my arm but I jerked away.  
"I would've been with him!" I snapped, turning my eyes away from him to hide the stinging tears.  
"Then you would have died with him."  
I could have told Joe that I would rather be dead than live without Warren. How on the night I found out he was dead, I was ready to end it until I got a message from Rachel and that I was alive because I knew Rachel couldn't handle two loses so close together. I could have, but I decided that Joe wouldn't like that particular admission so much. I was saved having to reply by coming up to the gate at that moment. A guard chewing gum gave us one look before letting us pass- not very smart since this was a school for spies, but it was pretty convenient for time saving.  
Joe gave me a side glance and I knew what he was thinking. Everything was a contest with Joe and I. We smiled at each other before running at full speed toward the castle. I knew he was going to beat me, so I made an attempt to lung myself at him and leeched myself to his back. We both went down at the sudden weight shift but when I let go to stand up, he grabbed my legs and wouldn't let me move as he stood with me on his back and ran through the doors.  
He kept me on his back as we ran to Ray's office, we mandated not to run into any Gallagher Girls, but garnered a small smile from Madam Buckingham. The stairs were a little tricky, and Joe nearly slipped on the last step before I helped him balance again and we continued to my sisters office.


	5. Mrs Solomon

A/N: Hey! I just wanted to apologize with taking so long to upload. (I know also apologize to all the authors that I was mad at for not updating on schedule.) It's tougher than it looks apparently.

A/NN: Thanks to the nonny who reviewed, this chapter is dedicated to you since I probably wouldn't have updated without your message. (I forget I'm a writer sometimes.) Also, I don't believe I will be quitting this story because I've already written a few chapter ahead. I might update twice next week just to makeup for my lack of posting. You're my first reviewer and I feel like a should do something special about it. What's your name? I don't know. You think of something maybe. Thanks for motivating me!

A/NNN: I promise I will try to update more regularly. Maybe once a week. Every Tuesday or Thursday? If you have an suggestions, just message me! :)

* * *

Ray was sitting in her office waiting patiently for us, knowing we wanted to know what was going on. I took in her office under code red, a fake picture of her and Cameron at Disney land- when I knew for a fact it was Russia. Some classical books were on the shelves, A tale of two cities was my favorite but was also a fake. I owned the only leather binding in existence in my two for ten dollar bag.  
"Interesting choice of transportation." Ray laughed as Joe allowed me to fall from his back and onto the leather couch.  
"Preferred choice of transportation." I corrected crossing my legs just before Joe knocked them off and sat in their place.  
"So, what's up with the McHenrys?" Joe questioned, not bothering with the pleasantries.  
"Tell me what you know and i'll fill in the blanks." Rachel sighed and leaned back in her chair; Joe and I shared a look before we launched into our information.  
"Macey McHenry, heir to the McHenry empire. Lots of family issues, probably starting from her Gallagher roots." I started,  
"Tests well and has been kicked out of far to many academies for this to be accidental. You singled her out for her roots, let slip about Gallagher Academy to the Senator and Macey ends up here." Joe finished; we looked to my sister expectantly.  
"She starts Monday, is a few years behind but has potential, I'll break the news about our little spy school then, and would like you both to be present.  
"We would absolutely-  
"Be delighted to."  
"By the way, the fair is coming to Rosewood and I would like to take your Gallagher Girls there." Joe stated, trying to catch her off guard but Rachel was to good for that.  
"What ever for, Joseph?"  
"A little fun." He said, and it was obvious he wasn't giving more.  
Rachel let out a heavy sigh, "just take Melantha with you."  
I looked to Joe and nearly laughed, but I put on a big (and convincing) show.  
I stomped my foot and whined, "I have stuff to do Rachel!"  
She raised her brow at me and I did laugh that time.  
"Your first class is coming fast, Lanie. Put together a budget of what you need. We have some empty rooms you can use, but of course you'll have to look at them. We need to sit down and discuss what is appropriate and not appropriate ("Rachel they are high schoolers, nothing is off limits"). You have to inform me if or when you take the girls off campus ("a spy's life is rules optional") and you have to be present for every dinner except on Sundays."  
"Got it. You told me this on the phone, I didn't mean to miss dinner the last three nights."  
"Oh yea? You ordered your dinner from your room all three times."  
"Soooo, list of supplies got it." I said and bolted down the hall, leaving Joe and Ray alone- and nearly running over Rebecca.  
"Hey, Ms. Solomon!"  
I nearly blanched, but kept a straight face in front of the sophomore girl.  
"Hello, Rebecca. Something I can help you with?" I asked, and regretted it immediately as a smile crossed her face.  
"Are you and Solomon married?" She asked, never afraid of ripping the bandaid off.  
"My last name is Solomon."  
"That doesn't mean your married."  
"I suppose you're right. Anything else?"  
"You didn't answer my question, but what is Skills op?"  
"Well, it's the companion to Cove Ops. Joe teaches you why a group of people act like they do, and why they think they way they do. I teach you how to act and think like them. I also teach how to turn makeup into a weapon." I replied, leaving out the fact that the makeup weapon was my own design anyways.  
I untangled myself from Rebecca's prying mind and continued on my way to the dinning hall. I hadn't had set meals in years, and so I sometimes got sick after eating. The food was rich, and heavy or rich and light. My stomach couldn't take it, so that's what led me to having Rachel hold my hair back as I vomited into the private toilet.  
"Are you okay, Lanie?"  
"Yea."  
And we didn't speak of it again.  
Just as I was settling into bed that night, I received a phone call I had been dreading.  
"Operative, Atalania. Is the line secure?" I asked, hoping they said no and I could go to sleep.  
"State your Id number."  
Damn.  
"0783920. Drop location?"  
"Four days. 21:00 hours. Tower of eyes."  
The phone clicked and I stood swiftly from my bed, then stomped the phone into oblivion. I would receive a new one at the drop.  
I sank back onto the bed, but knew I wasn't getting any sleep that night.


	6. McHeiress

A/N: I'm glad you all like the story so far. I'm not sure if I want to answer the Joe/Rachel/Lanie endgame thing yet. It's understandable why you both ship Joe and Rachel, and I get it. Thank you for the review Nonny and Lia! I'll try to post another update on Thursday and then I'll try to post every Thursday after. Does that sound reasonable?

A/NN: I like Lanie meddling with Rachel and Joe. (Spoiler I guess but... I plan to have some sister bonding soon. Surprisingly, its not my favorite scene. You'll get to that in just a couple of chapters.)

A/NNN: I hope you all continue to read and enjoy the story! I'm having fun writing it.

* * *

The day Macey McHenry was supposed to arrive, Joe came and woke me up by bouncing on the bed. I immediately lashed out, since the last time I was woken like that- I had been on the run in a hotel room.

I quickly put on some more sutable clothes for a teacher of "skills op." A wrap top and slacks, before Joe grabbed my arm and dragged me up to Rachel's office.  
"Madame Dabney has Macey on the property."  
"The triplets have been found and will be escorted to the office."  
Despite the fact that the school had been on red alert for the past week, it was still being run like a spy base. Several ear wigs were being worn, and everyone was busy... except for the trustee, Jessica Boden. I gave her one look as Joe plopped down beside her, and she scrambled to move and stand by the bookshelf; I took the open seat by my brother-in-law.  
"Good to see you dressed normally." Rachel grinned and I shrugged.  
"The clothes fairy visited my closet, and left some of my favorite fabric. Also, Ill have a list of items ready for you by dinner tonight." I had just finished my sentence when Madame Dabney opened the door; Macey trailed behind her with the typical spoiled brat look- but she had at least traded her heiress clothing for her Academy uniform. She looked no less like a heiress in them.  
Macey took her seat infront of Ray, seemingly not worried about the amount if teachers around her, and Rachel only had time to say, "hello, Macey," Before I heard Madame Dabney's earpiece crackled with "the triplets are here" and the doors were shoved open once more.  
"As I was saying, Macey," Rachel continued, once Elizabeth, Rebecca and Cameron had positioned themselves in the window seat at the far side of the room while Buckingham stood at attention in front of the bookshelves, "I hope you'll be happy here at the Gallagher Academy."  
Even though Rachel was perfectly poised, the only reply Macey bothered to give was a grunt. It made me slightly angry, and I was going to request she be forced to take my class immediately.  
"Well, Macey," an utterly repulsive voice chimed. "When the trustees heard about your admittance, my mother—"  
"Thank you, Jessica."  
Rachel opened a thick file that lay on her desk. "Macey, I see here that you spent a semester at the Triad Academy?"  
"Yeah," Macey said, slouching so badly that I sat up straighter in some need to compensate, "And then a full year at Wellington House. Two months at Ingalls. Ooh, just a week atthe Wilder Institute."  
"Do you have a point?" Macey asked, her tone just as sharp as the letter opener-slash-dagger that I had been twirling in ny fingers while they spoke, but I was still intently listening.  
"You've seen a lot of different schools, Macey—"  
"I wouldn't say there was anything different about them," she shot back; I had an idea.  
But no sooner had the words left her mouth than the letter-opening dagger went slicing through the air, no more than a foot away from her glossy hair, flying from my hand directly toward Buckingham's head. It all happened so fast, so fast that I temporarily worried for Patricia's safety. One second Macey was talking about how all prep schools are the same, and the next, Patricia Buckingham was grabbing a copy of War and Peace from the bookshelf behind her and holding it inches from herface just as the dagger pierced its leather cover (which really wasn't a loss since it wasnt the exprensive version). For a long time, the only sound was the subtle vibration of the letter opener as it stuck out of the book, humming.  
Ray was completely cool as she leaned onto her desk and said, "I think you'll find there are some things we teach that your other schools haven't offered."  
"What…" Macey stammered, "What… What… Are you crazy?"  
That's when my sister went through the school history again—the unabridged version—starting with Gilly and then hitting highlights like how it was Gallagher Girls giving each other manicures who had figured out the whole no-two-fingerprints-alike thing, and a few of our more highly profitable creations.  
When Rachel finished, Rebecca jumped at the opportunity to say, "Welcome to spy school," in her real accent instead of the geographically neutral drawl, which is all Macey had heard until then, and I could tell she was about to panic. Which, of course, Jessica just made worse.  
"Macey, I know this is going to come as a big adjustment to you, but that's why my mother—she's a Gallagher Trustee—has encouraged me to help you through this—"  
"Thank you, Jessica," I said, cutting her off before Rachel got the chance.  
"Perhaps I can make things a little more clear." Ray reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like an ordinary silver compact. She flipped up the lid and touched her forefinger to mirror inside. I saw the small light scan her fingerprint, and when she snapped the compact closed, the world around Macey McHenry shifted as the whole Code Red process went into reverse.  
The bookshelves had been facing wrong-way-out for a week, but now they were spinningaround to show their true side. Disney World disappeared in the photo on the desk; and Elizabeth broke out her Portuguese long enough to ask if Macey was going to throw up.  
When everything stopped changing, Macey was surrounded by more than a hundred years of covert secrets, but she wasn't stopping to take it all in. Instead, she screamed, "You people are psycho!" and bolted for the door. Fortunately, Joe was one step ahead of her.  
"Get out of my way!" she snapped.  
"Sorry," he said in such away go tell her he wasn't impressed, "I don't believe the headmistress is finished quite yet."  
"Macey. I know this must come as quite a shock to you. But we're really just a school for exceptional young women. Our classes are hard. Our curriculum unique. But you may use what you learn here anywhere in the world. In any way you see fit." She spoke as if talking to a scared pup, but then her eyes narrowed and her voice hardened as she said, "If you stay."  
When my sister stepped forward, I knew she wasn't talking as an administrator anymore; she was talking as a mother.  
"If you want to leave, Macey, we can make you forget this ever happened. When you wake up tomorrow, this will be a dream you don't remember, and you'll have one more dismal school experience on your record. But no matter your decision, there is only one thing you have to understand." Ray was moving closer, and Macey snapped, "What?"  
"No one will ever know what you have seen and heard here today."  
Macey was still staring daggers, but I knew Rachel would have Macey in her grasp in just one more moment.  
"Especially your parents." And Macey smiled.


	7. Coming and Going

A/N: First I would like to apologize for the layout. I do all of my writing on my phone and email to the computer before i post, so I guess the format is lost in translation somehow. I hope you both are happy with what I plan for Lanie and her future relationship .

A/NN: Thanks for the review Lia! I read it during lunch, very long line, and it really made my day! (You also reminded me it was Thursday, so this ones to you!)

A/NNN: Thanks you for reviewing my favorite nonny! I do that all the time, but I often forget to go back and review, so thanks for doing it for me :) and I'm really excited for you to read this chapter because it was my favorite to write, _and to read._

 **ENJOY!**

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Joe helped me pick out the room I wanted for my class, but he wanted a favor in return. He hadn't said it yet, but the fact that he was avoiding it was hint enough.  
Rachel received my list graciously, despite it being a little extravagant but I had wanted to test her boundaries, and she drew the line at cashmere table cloths (which I didn't really want anyways because they chaffed like crazy).  
I was organizing the newly pressed clothes when I felt Joe pacing behind me, and it was becoming increasingly irritating. I gave him two minutes to stop before I whirrled to face him with a book in my hand and threw it with deadly precision into his stomach.  
"Joseph, you're making me nervous with all the pacing. Now get out. Our classes start in ten minutes and you can't make it a habit to be late."  
"Love ya, sis." Joe grinned, throwing a hand around my waist just as I heard small footsteps coming down the hall, but he was planting a big wet kiss on my cheek before I could say anything, just as the most gossipy Gallagher girl walked into my class. I swatted Joe's arm, he sure as hell heard her; he ducked as he ran from the room.  
Half of me wanted to threaten Tina into staying quiet, but my more reasonable side said ignoring it would be wiser.  
"Good morning, Ms. Solomon." She said with a grin as another of her classmates filed in.  
"Indeed it is Ms. Walters. Good morning to you both."  
Slipping into my natural dialect was easier than I thought I would be, especially after pretending to be a Russian ambassador for the diplomat we helped overthrow (and well, kill).  
I moved from behind my desk to the couch in front of it. My room consisted of a cream and chocolate palate. I Always loved the color scheme. As the girls filed in, I watched them. Who they entered with, sat next to and greeted.  
Once they were all seated, and facing me, I smiled.  
"Good morning, ladies. I must say, I am rather happy to begin my class. My apologies to those of you who had a empty block for a week."  
"Good morning, Ms. Solomon." They replied in unison, more robotic than emotional.  
"This begins my first lesson. You all say good morning because it has been drilled in your head that it is polite. What are manners?"  
Every hand shot up in the air, and I nearly sighed despite myself.  
"I don't want the text book version. I was a Gallagher girl also, I memorized all of the same books. Give me your own words."  
Less hands were up now. Elizabeth looked ready to implode from my words, but I decided my first target would be the daughter of Kendra Lee.  
"Ms. Lee!" I called, and she looked momentarily frightened.  
"Etiquette?" She asked; I had to turn away to hide my tiny smile.  
"No."  
They spent the rest of class trying to define the word, becoming less confident and more confused as I continued to tell them no. I ended up stretched across the fancy sofa as their time with me ended.  
"I don't understand!" Elizabeth Sutton cried, her face red.  
"Ladies, part of being a female operative... is going undercover as a males, or females, love interest. You need to be able to catch their eye and keep it on you. This requires confidence in yourself and your body. None of you could answer my question with confidence when I first told Kim she was wrong. Now out, I have business to attend to."  
They didn't move as Mick Morrison rose her hand.  
"The homework is be confident. I want to see shoulders back, heads up, and stand up for yourselves. You'll be marked off if I see otherwise. Everyone starts with 70. Work for your grade."  
The Gallagher girls looked ready to have a heart attack, but shuffled out none the less, although it looked as if Cameron and Rebecca had to drag out their shocked friend.  
The great thing about being a teacher of a semester class, is that I only had seven classes, twice a week. Three senior classes, two junior classes, one sophomore class and one freshman class. Rachel and I both agrees that middle school students were too young to learn what I had to teach. Thankfully, today was the day when I had only one class.  
The classroom I had was wonderful, a large room where I held class, and an even larger room for clothes I would eventually use for class... or extra curricular stuff. I slipped back and rummaged around for a Covert outfit. Some sneakers, black skinnies and a black wife-beater. I always thought the name was atrocious, but it did wonders for flexibility.  
It was hard to walk around without sneaking, I wasn't doing anything wrong -yet- but I couldn't help trying to stay out of the eyes of the staff and students... until I came upon Macey McHenry, also hiding in the shadows.  
"Ms. McHenry, why are you lurking in the shadows?"  
"I'm not lurking, I'm looking for a place to... read magazines. Why are you lurking?"  
I narrowed my eyes at her handful of magazines, thicker than any fashion magazine should be, and she was holding them upside down.  
"Macey, you can always study in my classroom. Don't touch anything you shouldn't, or I'll know." I replied, softly overstepping her question, and she flushed before mumbling and striding off toward my class.  
Points for bravery, but not as many as she lost for mumbling.  
I was able to make my way to the garage without attracting anymore attention. I was picking up my new hit-list today at the "tower of eyes" my CIA safe house. Anyone with clearance to view the files in which I used that house would know I called it the tower of eyes because the neighbors we're so nosy that I could see their eyes peeking over the fences. One on top of the other.  
The drive was long. So long that I began to wonder what kind of target had me driving five hours for information. I couldn't stop myself from the game that ensued.  
Obviously a high target. Definitely something that threatens the CIA... maybe a CIA operative, a mission or one of the big wigs. Could be any number of agencies. It had to be someone from another agency because they were sending me in blind. That had me a little worried, would I be killing a classmate.  
I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, and pulled into the wooded area of the safe house. I checked the clock 20:55, it blinking on the dashboard as I did a quick check of my equipment.  
Glock. Knives. Vest (because I didn't trust anyone from the CIA farther than I could throw them). Sunglasses.  
I zipped up my jacket and grabbed the duffle bag I threw in at the last moment. One breathe calmed my nerves and I check the clock again, even though I already knew two minutes had passed, before slipping out of the inconspicuous van.  
The first thing I noticed when I set foot inside the house, was that Joe and I were obviously the last ones who had used the safe house. Magazines we had abruptly stopped reading, were sitting on the table- dusty, next to Grace Baxter's face reconstruction kit. This was a prime safe house... why hadn't it been used in the past eight years?  
I walked into the kitchen, finding it exactly the same as we had left it. We had been called away in the middle of a relaxing day. Everyone knew "the squad" met here to hang out, but that day we were called on a level 5 from all of our respective agencies. Apparently none of us had come back. I couldn't blame them though, this was originally Matt's and Warren's safe house and it was painful to be here as it was.  
A chill passed through my body that had me rolling my muscles to work it out, and I felt like I needed to get out asap. I took the stairs two at a time, making a beeline for the secret compartment in the bathroom. I knew I should have checked the house out completely, but my sense of paranoia was only increasing.  
The were two packets sitting in the compartment. One held a cell phone for future calls, and the other was most definitely my targets information.  
I bolted back downstairs, and just as I was about to throw the door open to leave- I sensed someone. They were standing outside the door, and if they were any good- they sensed me also, and I suddenly realized why the safe house wasn't in use. It was burned.  
The door suddenly slammed open, clipping my hand as I jerked it from the door. I let myself have enough time to take in their profile before turning and doing what I did best. Run.  
A man, average and easily forgotten, early to mid thirties with a recent cut on the left side of his jaw. Green eyes and dark red hair. He was left handed and probably had a gun (I was proved correct when he shot a wall ten feet in front of me).  
"Stop moving, or the next goes in your head."  
His voice was full of promise and experience, so I stopped. For now anyways.  
"What are you? FBI? MI6? Secret Service? Nsa?" The last one was a long shot, but he only snorted in reply.  
"The pack in your left hand, toss it over."  
He had deliberately choose the pack that wasn't holding a cell phone, but I couldn't let him know who my target was. I lightly tossed the package into his waiting hand before throwing the other package at him as hard as I could. He ducked out of the way quickly, but it was enough for me to lunge and overtake him. He had a large mass, but he obviously less experienced than he pretended to be.  
"I ask again," I said with his own service piece against his chest, "which alphabet soup are you?"  
His eyes were narrowed in anger and disbelief, but he knew better than to fight his way from an impossible position.  
"CI-  
"Don't fucking lie to me when I have a gun to your chest." I snarled, knowing I had never come across this man before in my life- despite his chameleon qualities.  
"Secret service."  
I hooked an arm and the man's body before flipping us into a standing position and back myself into a corner. Secret service always traveled with a partner. It was the main reason I had joined the CIA instead.  
I didn't waste time asking questions anymore. His partner was somewhere calling in backup the longer this went on.  
Shoving the man away, I kicked his in the head with as much force as I could muster from a stand still, and watched as he went down.  
I barley made it to the door when a loud shout echoed and I felt burning pain in my left shoulder. What the hell was the secret service feeding their agents? That kick should've put the man in the deepest sleep he'd ever experienced. I slipped through the door, either he didn't have a partner or I had miraculously managed to avoid them. I couldn't take my van but I couldn't leave it. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why did I take a van that could be tied to Gallagher? I made my way around the house and pulled my back up to shoot at the van. I wasn't sure if I could use it, so I ruined it. I few well placed shots to the gas tank let loose an explosion that had my lungs drying out.  
I took a step toward the woods and my leg nearly collapsed beneath me, in fact, I had completely queasy in those few seconds. That bullet was coated in some kind of paralyzing liquid or something, and I moved even faster. I _really_ couldn't get caught now.  
The woods were like a labyrinth. I had spent most of my time here as a young spy, but the woods had grown and developed more than I had. Even so, I made it a mile from my goal before passing out- wondering just what kind of effects the drug on the bullet would have.


	8. Side-effects and Side Chicks

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews! (I'm losing track because I think I have two Nonny's now, but I'm not sure...) ANY-WHO, thank you for reviewing with such long and positive feedback, but don't be afraid to complain if my stuff gets to dry or to slow or w/e. Input it always welcome in any form!

A/NN: You guys can follow me on Tumblr under my ridiculous title "Shipping-the-lesbians" (It's a picture of Birgitte, if y'all don't know who she is then you should educate yourself 3). She played the Karsi in Game of Thrones and played the German Goddess, aka Kommissar, in Pitch Perfect 2. OKAY BACK TO TOPIC. That's not my main Tumblr, but I post pictures of who I think would play the Gallagher Characters the best and I post chapters of LYKM on there (only the first so far, so I have to catch it up because I just started doing it!

A/NNN: I really love the reviews y'all. Thanks so much, and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

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Vivid nightmares. That was, apparently, the only side effect I couldn't sleep off. I awoke in the woods, sweat pouring off of me despite the cool breeze. Sunlight barely crept through the rough vegetation, maybe 6 am. Virgina wasn't known for their thick woods, but Tennessee sure was. I tried to do quick calculations. Of course, Rachel and Joe already knew I was gone but wouldn't be worried unless I didn't report for class... which was roughly four hours from now. Did I have enough time to get my wound check and get to class?

No, I didn't, I made it into Gallagher only eight minutes before class started-after calling in half of the favors owed to me, and I was darting through shadows to my room  
I was going to take my seniors to town today, but maybe I would save that for lesson two and instead take them inside the closet of magic. I wanted to save that for a later date, but this day was as good as any.  
I decided to wear ballet flats, a long sleeve tunic and a skirt. Cute, simple, and breathable. Seniors were nearly fresh operatives, I know I wouldn't be able to hide a gun shot from senior me- and I didn't make a habit of underestimating them. So I would lie.  
I made my way to class, two minutes late, but I knew the seniors would be sitting their quietly. Even if punctuality was my favorite quality, I couldn't rush because I noticed a large cut on my thigh from my tumble in the woods. I didn't hurt, but I couldn't risk tearing it open again.  
"Good morning, ladies." I said, noticing immediately that Rachel was sitting on my couch laughing with them.  
"Lanie!" Rachel smiled, standing up to give me a hug, but I knew she was worried.  
"What's up, sis?" I replied, wrapping my arms around her and she grinned.  
"Well I know you're taking the seniors down to Roseville today. Joe doesn't have a class so we're both going to go with you!" She revealed and I faked my best happy face.  
"That's excellent! Ladies, last one to the van has a three page essay on the ettiquete of flirting due before the next class."  
No one moved for a second, until they realized i was serious, then they all began sprinting like bats out of hell across campus.  
Ray shook her head before kicking the base of the wall behind my desk, revealing a secret passage way. We would beat the girls by at least twenty seconds. We just had to walk around the building, they had more ground to cover and more girls to beat.  
"What were you doing last night?" Rachel asked casually.  
"Meeting someone..."  
The best lies are truths.  
"... a man. My friend of sorts. We had a bit of a falling out. I don't think we'll be seeing eachother again, not any time soon."  
"A falling out where he shot you and one of our Gallagher Vans came up missing?"  
"Yes. And- yes. But I replaced the van so don't yell at me."  
Rachel and I walked up to the garage. Joe was sitting driver seat with his feet kicked up in the window and I sighed. I loved Joe, I really did, but I spent way to much time with him on a regular basis. I grabbed Rachels shoulder; pulling her to a stop between the van and I.  
"I know now isn't the time to be sentimental but if you're not ready for a relationship, don't force it or you'll never live with yourself." I whispered as quietly as possible and my sister's eyes widened.  
"I haven't even thought-  
"Good. Don't think about it until you have to. I love you, Rachel."  
"I... I love you to, Melantha."  
I hooped my arm through Rachel's as Joe started to get curious. He might be my brother in law, but Ray would always be my first priority.  
We actually had thirty seconds before the first girl barreled down the hall, and I flinched thinking about all of the underclassmen ran over in their rampage.  
The last girl was a rather mediocre. She slipped behind her classmates, hoping I didn't see her. It didnt matter to me, she knew she was last and would only hurt herself if she didn't complete the essay.  
Rachel opened the Backdoor for the girls and I pulled Joe out of the front seat; pushing him Into the back from the gap in between the seats. I let Ray take the drivers seat and she went driving sporadically across the campus. I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled through my lips as I gripped onto the dashboard- until Joe went hurtling into my left shoulder.  
My knuckles went white and my eyes stung with unshed tears as I had in the cry of pain that burst through my body, but I couldn't help but notice that it didn't hurt nearly as much as it had yesterday.  
My sister sensed my grounded pain as always and have me a look of sympathy. We had some sort of connection as twins, feeling each others pain and emotions but maybe it was because we were so close.  
"Okay ladies," I started once we were on the main road and I had worked through my pain, "now that you're all disheveled and in your Gallagher uniforms... I want you to each pick a guy, or girl, and get their number."  
A look of defeat passed around momentarily, and it sort of irritated me. Why did they think they could take on the world, but think that getting a guy to like them was impossible?  
"If it's any consolation; Rachel, Joe and I will be doing the project with you." I said, and gave them time to interject- which they did.  
"You all have an advantage. Everybody is roseville hates Gallagher Academy."  
"Way ahead of you, Ms. Taylor." I replied, pointing to a box and the closet girl pulled some clothes out.  
Rachel, Joe and I would be in black sweatpants that had "Gallagher Academy" down the side; we would all have on a grey shirt. The back of Ray's said "Gallagher Headmistress" while Joe and I had "Gallagher Staff" on ours.  
The girls grumbled a little but settled down until I parked in the lot of roseville and handed Joe a box to lass around.  
I started singing, "some girls drip with diamonds, some girls with pearls. Lucky us, lucky us, look at what we're dripping with... comm units," I finished- grinning to Rachel.  
I waited patiently for them to adjust their comms as I slipped mine in. It was familiar to me and gave me a sense of completion to know my sisters were there. I could hear their chatter and knew they were ready, so I turned to face them.  
"This is a grade ladies. First to get a number gets a 100. The second gets a 95. And so on...," they sat petrified, "well? Get started."  
After the girls left, the three of us changes into the clothes.  
"Don't you think you're grading a little hard? Cammie and Liz came into my office nearly bawling about how hard your grading curb is."  
"None of them challenged me. These girls think they are everything, but have nothing to back up their claim. They assume they will walk into any of the alphabet soups and get the respect they deserve because they are from Gallagher when in actuality- they we be immediately looked down on." I didn't mean to go on a mini rant, but Rachel seemed to understand what I was saying and nodded along with me.  
"Speaking of Cammie, you should spend more time with your niece- and your goddaughter."  
"OH yea! That reminds me," I started, grasping for straws, "I want to take them out to do some fun stuff."  
"That depends on what your definition of fun stuff is."  
"Something dangerous and probably life threatening-  
The fist to skin contact resounded in the van as I struck Joe with my fist. He pretended to be mortally wounded, and I couldn't help but grin.  
"I was thinking I take them to one of my old safe houses and let them go through my cases or put together some guns. Completely safe. Scouts honor!"  
By the time we made it out of the truck, we were all laughing hysterically and one kid was in the process of collecting a number.  
The mission went fairly well. All of the girls received someone's number- but if the number worked was a different question. My only objective was to beat Rachel and Joe, but Ray had us by roughly 32 seconds.  
We stayed in town until every girl got a phone number. Only a couple resorted to less-than-legal means, but we made it back to school by lunch time- with only minimal Gallagher Glares.

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A/N: It occurs to me that I probably shouldn't share the plot with you all. XD All of you guessed she would be okay since I mentioned the sister bonding. ANYWAYS SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.


	9. It's a TRAP! (AN)

I HAD SOME REALLY NICE SHIT HERE. IT WAS ALL PROPER AND NICE AND THANKING YOU FOR THE REVIEWS AND I NOTICED MY NONNY CHANGED THEIR NAME FROM GUEST TO NONNY SO I WOULD ASSUME THEY'RE TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE. just take my word for it and let's pretend it's still fancy.

THAT WAS OFF TANGENT. MY BAD.

ANY-WHO. I did this whole A/N because I wanted to tell you all that I'm writing a short (I made a clever joke so just like, breathe out of your nose a little harder than normal because it was a little clever) spin-off of LYKM. Like, before Lanie was a widower. Or maybe I'll talk about the mission in Russia before she got to Gallagher. Well, it's called " _When loving you was only painful_ " so look out for it. It'll hopefully be posted before January 1st... Sorry for the false hope. If any of you want to jump on the contest train the website is called (slash) fandom3

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD DAY!


	10. Bullets and Babes

Once I made sure all of my girls were eating, I dodged out of the dining hall to pull the bullet out- grabbing a roll on my way (because one did not simply neglect the Chiefs butter glazed rolls).  
I grabbed the packet I had been neglecting to look through and snagged some equipment from Fibbs' lab.  
Inside the file was a picture, name and occupation of the man I was going to assassinate- luckily, it was no one I knew.  
Name: Rakim Adler  
Occupation: Secret Service informant  
His occupation revealed more questions than answers. Now I knew why the SS was trying to stop me, but how had they known the drop location? How did they know it was their informant we were after? I could try to set up a brief with a local handler, but I wasnt sure how much it would help.  
I spat part of the buttered roll out when I seen the assination course. Two weeks from now he would be in woodrun, the town over from here, to attend a parade with his wife in an attempt to save their marriage. I didn't know how they were going to manage to set that precise plan in order- but as long as my hands were endgame... it didn't matter.  
After I secured the file, I turned to the tools with a sigh.  
Taking the bullet out was harder than I thought. I aggrivated the wound further by digging around in it and by the time I had it extracted, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I considered them traitors. I didn't like to cry but it wasn't only my tears that stopped me in my tracks. Couldn't I get a damn break?  
I could feel horror etched into my face as I moved quickly through the room. I wrapped the bullet in a cloth, along with all of the instruments and grabbed my cell phone. I didn't waste time being calm and collected, I was running my full speed through the halls. Get away from Gallagher. Was the only thought forming through my head as I catapulted myself through the woods once I made it off campus. I knew their was blood oozing down the back of my shirt but I didn't care. I didn't even feel the evident pain. Get away from Gallagher.  
I didn't stop running until I made it into a bathroom at the festival. It had only been here for a couple hours, and they were still setting up- so a crazy woman running wasn't something they thought anything of.  
After I slid the deadbolt in place, I dumped the bloody equipment into the sink and slid the faucet as high as it would go until water was gushing from it. Then I took a better look at the bullet, my phone in hand as I dialed one of the only numbers I knew would never change.  
"Trinity?" I questioned over the phone, after I heard a click, using the code word.  
"Make it quick, I don't have a lot of time."  
"I need to know what bullets the secret service have recently approved for field operation." I was desperate, I had to know I didn't endanger my sisters.  
"You know I'm not supposed to-  
"Dominican Republic. I told you about the bugs." There was a short pause, and I felt bad for using the Dominican Republic op. against her, but I had to know.  
"A tracking bullet. It's supposed to attack the targets neuro system so they hallucinate- one subject reacted so violently that he remained unconcious for the better part of a day. It sends out radio signals once the shooter activates it, so the target can be found if they manage to escape."  
"Thank you, Abby. I owe you."  
"I'll collect."  
That was the extent of our conversation. No 'I love yous' or sentimentality. Our relationship was always strained and professional after Matt and Warren were killed, but I had no idea why.  
No sooner had I hung the phone up, the round bullet began to flash even brighter than when I had pulled it out of my skin, and I dropped it as it shocked me. Maybe that was a neutralizing agent?  
I wrapped my tools in paper towels and stuck them down my shirt, hoping the scapel wouldn't cut me as I threw the bullet in the toilet bowl. It would lead the trackers to this bathroom where the assumed I would be passed out, but I would be across the way- keeping a very detailed report of who would be coming in and out of here.  
I wrapped the tools in more paper towels and threw them out in the bathroom trash of a bar across the street. (After they scrapped my back one to many times for comfort).  
Once I was in a good visual place in the darkly-lit, low key bar, I pulled my phone back out to place a call to my brother. Of course, I only received his voice mail.  
"Hey, I'm missing the rest of class. Tell Ray it won't be a regular occurrence. If you could write on the board that they have an essay due on proper bullet extraction due at the end of class, I would love you forever. Be back later." (Of course this one sided conversation took place in Farsi since civilians would be a little worried).  
It was a while before any town picked up, but I kept a steady flow of foods and drinks so the bar owner wouldn't toss me out. I had a perfect view of the bathroom, and was left alone until one brave woman approached me- sitting on the stool to my left.  
"Hi, I'm Belle."  
"Belle. Like beauty and the beast?" I asked, because, beauty she was.  
"The one and only I'm afraid. My mother had an affliction for smart Disney princesses."  
"I'm Clarice." I replied with a grin, sticking my hand out to her as I waited to see if she got my reference.  
"That wouldn't be linked to hannibal lector now would it?"  
"I'm afraid so. My mother had an affliction for cannibals it appears." She met my grin, but hers seemed more genuine.  
"I have to admit. I loved the books, but I feel the movies didn't portray clarice right."  
"Not many people would allow it to be known they read such... works of literature, but I agree." I said, trying to goade her, but she simply blushed- a very riveting action to watch.  
"The movies portrayed Clarice as the weak girl who fell for a psychopaths games and was twisted into being fascinated with him, when in reality-  
"She was the one who initiated their sexual relationship. I always pictured them as my second favorite fictional couple. Only behind Morticia and Gomez." I revealed and her eyes widened with happiness and she took my hand.  
We sat their talking late into the afternoon, it was the most fun I'd had since forever.  
She seemed to read my mind as the sun continued to go down, and handed me a pen. I wrote my private number down on her arm after brief hesitation. I didn't get the vibe that she wanted to kill me, but it's always a possibility. It didnt matter much, if she tried to search me- she'd find Clarice Dominique, one of my two full fledged aliases. They both came with drivers license, passports, offshore bank accounts and the whole works, but the my alias hadn't been used it a while.  
"It was nice to meet you. I'll see you again soon?" She bit her lip after she asked, indicating she was nervous.  
I didn't want to give her false hope, but I couldn't remember the last time I had done something reckless. Maybe it was high time I started. I couldn't make a promise I didn't know if I could keep, even if I wanted to.  
"I- I hope so." I hadn't meant it when I thought of the answer, but as I said it... I knew I did.  
She gave me a smile, and I committed it to memory. Down the the slight scar on her upper right lip, and I couldn't help but wonder how it was received.  
I waited a few minutes after she left, and drank a shot of tequila before leaving myself. A lot of woman had gone into the bathroom during my time with Belle, but none had stood out from the rest.


	11. Sisters and secrets

A/N: First off, I would like to apologize for not writing an authors note last time. I was on my way out the door to someplace I can't remember so I just posted!

A/NN: THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS. Thank you Char for telling me that you ship Belle/Lanie because I was a bit worried that I was making the story to much of a Joe/Lanie... I'm not sure where it will end up though. Also, hello new Nonny! I look forward to hearing more from you!

A/NNN: I do celebrate Christmas, so happy holidays/ New years (Assuming you also celebrate). ENJOY!

* * *

I wasn't able to get much sleep that night. Since their essays were due the same day they were written, I wanted to have them all graded but there was a big problem with grading them all in one sitting- they were all the near exact page.

About halfway through the stack, my sister came strutting through the door in the way only she could do.

"Need some help grading?" She asked, fingering the corner of the stack.

"No, I'm going to let them grade their own."

"I'm afraid the only person who will grade their paper like you will, is Liz Sutton."

"Oh! No, I meant their grade will depend on them tomorrow. These papers are so identical that I'm going to erase the names and any identifying marks and make them choose their paper from the pile." I revealed, and Rachel shook her head.

"The girls are going to kill themselves to please you... they can't be that bad, Lane."

I cringed at the nickname. As if Lanie was short enough, but she didn't seem to notice as she skimmed through two papers at the same time. When she finished, I waited patiently to hear her response but her eyes didn't meet mine and she grinned bashfully.

"I told you! They think they are so smart, and it has made them stupid." I exclaimed and Rachel snorted.

"It's not quiet that bad. They just lack creativity."

At Rachel's declaration, I fell back onto my bed, shoving the box of papers off the bed with the heel of my foot and an exaggerated sigh.

I nearly jumped when Rachel also plopped down beside me. I was sure what to think.

"Scoot over, I don't have any room." She said, clearly trying to joke since she had plenty of space- I scooted over anyways.

I wasn't ready to sleep yet, so I sat up on my elbow.

"Let me do your nails." I blurted out before I could actually, and she cracked one eye open.

I hoped off the bed and grabbed the few nail polishes I had from the counter top and made my way back into the room to find Ray sitting up.

Rachel was always a easy going person. She didn't fuss about anything, but especially about her hands. I finished quicker than I wanted to, after painting each nail a perfect mint green.

Even after I was done, we sat up in bed giggling with each other and I had the sudden urge to hug her- so I did.

"I missed you, Rachel." I whispered as she clutched me.

"You and Abby left." She whispered and I almost felt my heart jump from my chest with pain.

"I didn't know. I- I didn't know she would leave you alone. She didn't lose anyone, I don't understand why she was so hurt." I revealed, laying my head down on her shoulder so I wouldn't have to see her face.

"She loved them to."

Rachel's hand brushed through my hair as she said this and I felt the familiar sting in my eyes, but I wouldn't cry in front of Rachel.

"I think Warren loved Abby as more than a sister." I said, as monotonouslly as possible, but Rachel just kissed the top of my head.

It was the first time I had said my worries outloud, but I had thought about it to the point it drove me insane. It would explain so much.

"Not with the way he looked at you. Warren loved you more than you could see."

Long after Rachel had fallen asleep, I lied awake staring at the roof. I shifted to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"I can't promise I will stop running, but I can promise you'll never be alone again and that I'll always come back." I said quietly, and pulled the sheet up more.

When I woke up, Rachel was already gone but I could sense something wrong.

I walked from my room with my gun. Despite what I told my girls, it was useful to have -when scouting. The halls were cold, and my shoes weren't where I had left them. In fact, I couldn't find any of my shoes. I didn't coke across anyone as I inched my way to the grand doors, but nothing prepared me for what I seen on the front lawn.

The scream formed in my throat, but nothing came from my mouth and my gun dropped on the ground, shattering into a million pieces like it was nothing more than glass.

it's just the dream. I screamed to myself, but I still couldn't react... I was never able to react. It was always a different setting, different villans but always the same message.

Everyone you love will die. It's already started.

I woke dead before the dream came to its usual finish. My jolt sent Rachel into a defense immediately until she realized it was me.

"Are you okay?" She asked as I tried to control the anxiety attack the dream always gave me and I tried to nod.

Rachel set on her knees behind me and wrapped her arms around my chest and laid her on my neck. I was momentarily suprised that she still remembered how to help me during an anxiety attack.

I remembered when I first found out Gallagher Academy was a school for spies. When I was just a 7th grader, the lowest on the totem poll, and the idea of being a spy was so... marvelous. They sold Rachel and I on the benefits, the educational opportunities, telling us about the fields we could go into and the missions we would face. Nobody told us, me, about the cost of being a spy. Nobody told me that eventually Rachel and I would split up. That she would take a safe job after Matt died and I would become even more reckless. Worst of all, nobody told me that I would be reduced to a shivering, hyperventilating mess.

It took the better part of an hour, but I was able to calm down enough to sleep, with a thought on my mind, "I was never cut out for this."

Not even Rachel's hold on me could break the chaos of thoughts, even after I fell asleep.


	12. breakdowns and beat-ups

A/N: HELLO EVERYONE! I feel like this week is taking to long, but it's also slow...

A/NN: Hello, Char! Thank you for reviewing! I loved writing the scene between Rachel and Lanie. (I also may or not elaborate on her dream in the other story I'm currently writing). I have plans for Abby.

ENJOY ~Shay

* * *

It was about week before Belle called me, the same night I was going with the the Gallagher Girls to town. I was putting some clothes on for class when I heard it go off. Just one sharp ring.  
"Yes?" My answer was just as sharp.  
"Hey, it's Belle."  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was expecting someone else." I lied, trying to play off how angry my voice was.  
"That's okay! I was afraid I had called at a bad time."  
"Well, I'm getting ready for lessons but I still have about ten minutes. What's up?"  
"I'll be quick then. Do you maybe want to go out for drinks?"  
She sounded hopeful, and I felt bad to be the one to break her hope... but maybe. I could use her as surveillance. Keep tabs on which people are frequent and which are new.  
"I'm not sure if I can tonight... how about we make it early dinner? I promised to help one of my fellow teachers with an activity."  
"That's even better!" She exclaimed, and I could imagine her smiling, which made me grin.  
"I have class until 2 and I have to be back before 6."  
"Great. Meet at the diner at 3?"  
"Sounds like a date." I said, and tried to stop myself from verbally cursing.  
"Sounds like a date." She echoed, and hung up.  
I couldn't fight the smile from my face as I wiggled into my jeans. They were tight but still breathable. Then I slipped a- nearly backless- top over my head and checked to make sure it didn't show what was left of the wound. It was nearly invisible now, but I still kept a bandage over it until it was fully healed. I looked toward the shoes I was going to wear. Sensible converse, but Belle had me feeling like it was a heels kind of day.  
The day dragged on from that point. I didn't know why I was so pumped to see her again, but I was definitely excited. It didn't pick up until lunch time when Joe dropped by. Quite literally.  
"Joseph Solomon, what the hell!" I shrieked as I viewed him lying on the only desk in the room- exactly his luck.  
"I'm trying to find out how Cammie travels."  
"Certainly not through Air ducts. She takes passageways. She's a young lady, Joseph."  
"You're 'joseph'-ing me a lot. What's going on." He asked with those laser eyes of his.  
"I won't be here to board the girls in the van with you." I said, coming right out with it.  
"Oh right, because of your date. I can pick you up on the way." He sounded nonchalant, but I blanched.  
"Its not a date, Joe. I'm straight, but I haven't even told Rachel yet. How did you know?" I asked, jabbing his hip bone and he smiled sheepishly before looking up from where he fell.  
"You were in my vents? Joseph!" I snarled and shoved him off the desk.  
I knew my anger was overkill, buy I couldn't help flashing back to Venice. It was his snooping that nearly brought the mission down, nearly killing everyone involved.  
"I wasn't trying to spy on you, I swear-  
I didn't give him time to finish before I turned and swung my foot at his head. He deflected, but didn't retaliate.  
"Don't you dare lie to my face, Solomon," I was practically spitting venom, "you may be a good spy, but you'll never be a good liar. You memorized those floor plans before you went up in the vents."  
The feint blush appeared on his face. His tale sign of being caught. It only made me angrier, and I took a cheap shot. He deflected again. I was about to hit him again, but I heard the warning of my senior class approaching. I pulled my face from anger to neutral.  
"Get out." I said monotonouslly, and he gave me a pathetic look before slinking out.  
He could've talked himself out of my anger, but he let himself be shamed. Probably so he could use it to his advantage once I began to feel bad about it.  
My bad mood survived my senior class, but their essays didn't survive my bad mood. My feet were propped up on my desk as I skimmed through them, waiting for the girls to finish the pop quiz. I always kept pop quizzes in a password protected suitcase. For moments like this, when I wanted to do anything but teacher a lesson.  
I was getting more and more frustrated with each passing essay, until I finally threw the stack back onto the table. The top sheet labeled "love in the workplace." I wasn't ready to implode, but I had it up to my heels with their ignorance.  
As soon as the sheets made a noise, every head snapped up to meet my eyes.  
"Did any of you take the essay seriously? Every single one of you wrote something along the lines of being superior to love. So I ask you again. Not on a sheet of paper, but from me to you. How do you compartmentalize your emotions for a coworker or civilian during an assignment?"  
There was a moment of silence before the, almost certain, to-be valedictorian spoke out.  
"Ms. Solomon, we are Gallagher Girls. We haven't been subjected to relationships with men, so we wouldn't know until we came face to face with the issue. Although, I believe I could personally abstain from emotions that could compromise a mission." She was ever the put together child, but still had so much to learn before graduation.  
"I'm not saying you can't. I'm saying you need to know that you can trust your emotions when you see your first Adonis or Aphroditie during a mission."  
"Look, no one knows the circumstances that led you and Mr Solomon to get married but that doesn't mean we-  
I cut into the girl with more vehemence than I meant to, and my anger wasn't tempered by her fear- but more so fueled.  
"Joseph Solomon is not my husband."  
Looks like I was causing more trouble than I was worth today. If this was any sign, I should probably cancel the dinner with Belle. I felt bad as soon as I seen the face of the senior I had senselessly mowed into. She was the tiniest, and bullying her would get me nothing but resistance from her peers. I took a deep breath and reshuffled the essays to regain my thoughts before speaking.  
"When you truly fall in love, you become blind. You become blind to their faults, their lies and eventually you grow blind to anything they do that would be otherwise alarming to others. I fell in love once. It was... ages ago..." I paused and took notice of the girls waiting on baited breath for their first bit of gossip on me and possibly Joe, "next lesson will be psychology. Be prepared. Tell your secrets now, because we will uncover everything about each, and every, one of you. Class dismissed."  
After the final girl filed out, I began pacing back and forth in the class, hoping the familiar activity could burn away the overwhelming amount of emotions I was receiving at once. Then I did something I had never done, on a solid floor, before in my life. I tripped.  
I didn't even try to stand. It was the final straw that broke my back. I was cursing up a storm as the pain I had been holding back exploded inside me. Cursing myself, cursing Warren for making me hurt like I had never hurt before, and cursing love for even having an equation in all of my turmoil. I was once like that girl. Sure of myself and emotions, but I never would have guessed I'd be here... on the floor of Gallagher Academy, curled in a tight circle like a wounded child.  
The deadbolt sliding was enough to make me look up from my emotional breakdown, but it just hurt even more when I realized it was Joe who had entered the room. I didn't care anymore about the earlier events, I blindly reached my arms out to him.  
Joe pulled me into a hug as he sat down on the floor beside me. I wasn't crying, but I was as close as I would willingly go.  
"It hurts so much to miss him, Joe." I whimpered, knowing I sounded like a pathetic mess.  
"I know." His voice hadn't cracked, but I knew he was just seconds away from falling into my chasm of despair.  
I was angry with him, and I wanted him to be miserable, but I refused to be a poisonous person. I wallowed in my own self guilt, and Joe had enough of his own to pass around. I wouldn't give him any of mine.  
Joe helped me stand, and I immediately fixed my makeup and hair.  
"Help me get ready?" I asked and he grinned, back to his normal self as soon as I was... we had a lot of practice, pretending, in our profession.  
Rachel walked into the room as I was fitting a flowing wig onto Joe's head. She had come in with amazing stealth, so I made no movement to acknowledge her but Joe was better than we gave him credit for and stripped the wig immediately before facing Ray.  
She huffed and plopped down on the long couch the separated the large closet. Joe and I gave each other one look before we both jumped onto the couch on either side of her, her body jumping at our force.  
"Long day, Rach?" Joe asked and I scrunched my eyebrows at the name, but he shrugged. Just trying it out, he mouthed.  
"Macey." She groaned, tossing an arm over her face.  
"Oh yes. I hear she's been causing trouble." Joe said  
"Oh yes. I've seen her causing trouble." I replied to that with a grin.  
She had only been in one of my skill ops classes and had already asked to go shopping with me- which is a good ego booster.  
"She knocked out a a 7th grade with one kick and she nearly started a fight with a seventh and twelfth grader within thirty minutes of each other and then she told Patricia that she should try control-top panty hose."  
"I think she's my favorite student." I said with a grin and Rachel kicked at me but missed (probably on purpose because I had seen her personally kick an apple out of mid-air.)  
"She's going to give me grey hairs, and you missed what happened at lunch today." Rachel groaned into a pillow.  
"What happened?" I asked, instead of commenting on our age (which was nowhere near old enough for grey hairs, in my opinion).  
Rachel kicked at me again and Joe tried to stifle his snickering.  
"Bex grabbed ahold of Macey after she insulted Liz."  
"Holy shit, no way. And she didn't get jumped for it?"  
"No, I broke it up. Macey was laughing her head off, but that put the trio in the lead of my op." Joe said and I barley contain my glee, this was the perfect opportunity to see Bex and Cam's skills.  
"So what are you getting dressed up for?"  
To go out with a fantastic woman in an outfit comfortable enough to run an op in.  
"Going into town." Joe supplied and I nodded in thanks when I noticed Rachel still wasn't look.  
"Just be back in time for the op," She said, her voice muffled before she looked up, "and be careful. The observer tell me that someone with no allegiance is hanging around."


	13. (AN) It's a trap

Hellooooo! As y'all know (I think you know) that I'm writing a companion story of LYKM for a competition and I'm nearly ready to post it. I'll post it on here and on Inkitt where the competition is taking place.

The story takes places before lykm when Warren is still alive, so you get to see them interact with one another. This story gives you a bit more background into Lanie and why she is the way she is, and why she does what she does.

My current dilemma is choosing a title. I tried posting a poll, but is being a bit of a butt. So if y'all could message which of these you like.

(1. When loving you only hurt)

(2. Love hurts and then you die)

(3. The city where it all happened)

( 4. Before loving you killed me)

(5. Loving you is killing me- the prequel)

(6. Insert your own)

Thanks for the help! ~Shay


	14. Atalania

A/N: Hello again my darlings! Thank you for the reviews and giving your opinions on the title for the other story. (It's ready to post soon. It will be 3k+ but it'll only be a one-shot. Don't worry about reviewing "Late," as long as you enjoyed the story- I'm happy, but thank you for the review Char!

A/NN: I changed my Tumblr handle to That-writer-girl (it's something of that sort but my tag is for sure "Gallagher espionage")

Hope you enjoy!

~Shay

* * *

By the time my early dinner with Belle rolled around, I was emotional exhausted. My time getting ready, with Joe and Ray help, was very therapeutic but not good for my legs. I didn't have the heart to tell Joe no, so I was in a shorts and a plaid button down. If he was trying to upsale me as a lesbian, he was choosing the most _stereotypical_ path possible.

The cafe wasn't busy, but I had to shoo away three waiters within three minutes. Then I ordered a beer when the fourth waiter came up.

As I waited for the beer, I took to frowning at the clock. It was already 15 after 3 and the soft tick of the second hand was only serving as a faint reminder of Belle's lateness.

30 after, I re-dialed the number Belle had called me from. It went straight to voice mail, and my eyes widened in shock when I realized the voice mail was said entirely in Russian. That is _fucking suspicious.  
_  
"Name and number. I'll get back to you."

Sure, I had answered my phone in a cold manner, but nothing was more clinical than that answering machine.

I gave it ten more minutes before I slipped off of the stool and began stalking toward the door. If I was moody before, it had no comparison to now. Nearly four, and I had three hours to kill still. I toyed with the phone in my hand before I flipped it open and dialed the number than had come with the case.

"Name and ID?"

"Atalania, 0783920. Is the line secure?"

"Yes sir'ie. I'm your handler, you need more info right?" I stopped in my tracks, I sure as hell wasn't expecting a southern gal as a handler.

"Yes. Where can we meet?"

"The football stadium. fifteen minutes, you can have me for two hours and then I'm gone. If you're not alone, I'm gone. If your late, I'm gone. If you're being followed, I'm gone." I was in the process of replying when I was met with dial tone.

I began making my way toward the large football field on the edge of town, but once again stopped in my tracks. This time, it was because of a different southern beauty. Belle. She was in the road up ahead with another man, laughing. Betrayal blossomed in my chest, and I chastised myself. She could do what ever the hell she pleased.

"This is why you didn't show?" I asked her, viciously aware I was wasting precious time.

"Clarice! I'm- I'm sorry. I got held up-

"I can see that. It's okay, I'm meeting up with a friend in the next few minutes anyways."

"Why don't you come to dinner with us?" Her male counterpart asked, and I smiled sweetly, noting his handsomeness - a modern day blonde, blue-eyed man but she offset him spectacularly.

"I would rather not intrude. Have a nice evening Belle."

"I'm sorry Clarice." I heard her call, and I stopped dead in my tracks- remembering the voice mail.

"Are you Russian by the way?"

She had a look of confusion on her face before nodding.

"My mother was native and my whole family lives there. You're the only person besides them that has my personal number." She admitted, and the man she was with looked shocked (which made me feel much better).

I walked until I was out of their site, and then I began running and made it with only a minute to spare. A minute to find my handler in a sea of people. Of course a football game would be going on, so I quickly eliminated people, wishing I hadn't wasted time with Belle and her boyfriend.

A woman. Alone. She was very high strung on the phone. Fidgeting. The last one eliminated everyone except a mildly attractive woman at the top of the bleachers. She glanced at her watch and was standing up to leave when I reached her.

"I still have 15 seconds." I smiled, and she smiled in return.

She stuck her hand out and I took it reflexively, then dropped it nearly immediately. Her hand curled open to reveal something with a sharp point, and I was very glad for my sensitive palms, this was admittedly not the only time they saved my ass. I felt the object before she could stick me, but that didn't matter, she lunged forward and shoved her hand into my collarbone.

"I've had a really bad couple of weeks, been knocked out a lot. So I'm going to be pissed when I wake up."

"Relax. It's just insurance. I can't have you knowing the exact operation I'm working from until it's time for you to leave."

"Insurance how?" I questioned, placing my hand over the stinging area.

"It's poison. It will kill you if not treated in the next three hours."

It only took a couple minutes to make it to her hotel room. It was bare with a backpack in the corner, she was ready to go if anything went sideways. The moment we stepped through the doors, she wanted it to be over with as fast as possible.

"Shoot. Ask away. I answer anything that won't damage his assassination."

"How did the secret service know where to find me when I tried to get the case?"

"That's still being determined. It's believed they intercepted the call."

"Do they know who I am? I mean, was the man able to identify me?"

"No, and you're lucky he was a rookie. Had it been his partner who was in the room, and him in the tree with a rifle... you'd probably be dead."

So it hadn't been the man who shot me. I didn't know whether or not t be offended that I was marked from a tree.

"Why is the CIA interested in a secret service informant?"

"I told them you would ask!" She exclaimed suddenly, and I nearly jumped. I was being awfully paranoid.

"Sorry. Uhm, the informant was the cause of very many Cia lives lost on foreign soil. He has the SS convinced that the people he worked for will make an attempt on the president's life. My contact inside the ring says no such plan is in movement since election is coming up anyways."

"Okay, now answer my question. The CIA doesn't send a skilled assassin to do a hit because of revenge. So, what's the real reason." She seemed to cringe as I asked, but slowly answered.

"He... knows some, stuff, that would he very harmful to us if it were to get out." Once she said this, I needed no more information, but I wanted to see what I could learn.

"How dangerous?"

"It would hurt a lot of our sisters."

"Okay."

"Okay? Okay what?"

"Okay that's all I need to know. Just deliver him."

"I don't know your real name, but my name is Charlotte and I'd love to help you anyway I could." She said, sincerity pouring from her and I nodded- allowing her to write her number on my Palm.

That's as far as I could trust her for now, if she didn't know my name, then there was a reason for it. I wanted to trust her though, and I hoped I could.  
Once she injected me, I didn't waste time hanging around. I hadn't been on this side of roseville since... junior year of school, but it wasn't something I could forget. I was just about to check the time when my phone rang, the ID popped up immediately.

Contact: Red.

"Yo yo." I answered and heard him snort.

"I'll be on the edge of town in twenty with the girls. Left a bag of clothes by the dumpster nearest to Gallagher. Meet me."

I hung up and began sprinting with a grin on my face. Things like this always brought back the thrill of a mission for me. Time limit. Objective. Changing clothes. I slid in between the throngs of people at the Faire, some clowns, some carnies, some festive goers. I took it all in.

A man was kissing upon a woman. I bet her husband wouldn't like that.

A kid was looking for trouble. That store has more security than you think.

A woman and man were fighting. Leave her, it never stayed verbal for long.

I turned away and focused on the objective, just 15 minutes...


	15. Legacies or Look-outs

A/N: Happy Birthday CHAR! Since your mom was determined to sing happy birthday to you, I was determined to post the companion fic. It'll be up right after this is posted. Thank you for the review! It's never annoying so don't worry your happy and kind heart about it!

A/NN: The offical name for the companion fic is _Before loving you killed me._

Hope you enjoy.

~Shay

* * *

The clothes were exactly where Joe said they would be, but they were not what I had asked for. Inside was a shirt that said Gallagher Girl Staff, his shit from my first op, I remembered. I sighed and pulled out the rest. His sweatpants and pair converse were all that was left. Oh I would strangle him. I checked the town square clock. I didn't have time to buy clothes.

I was shimming into the shirt when I caught the van in my peripheral. It stopped for a moment, just long enough for me to bolt to the passenger side and hop in.

"Joe, Mosckowitz- Girls!" Their appearances shocked me so much, that my greeting came out strained, but I tried to mask it, "you all look very... dressed..." I choked out, swallowing many different flavors of air, so, so much perfume.

I rolled the window down and turned to Harvey and Joe.

"Thanks for the pickup."

"No problem, Lane. Did you accomplish what you set out here for?" He asked, and I thought about how to answer discreetly.

"Yes, I'll tell you about it later." There was no discretion in a car full of spies.

"For this mission, ladies, you will be posing as normal teenage girls. Think you can handle that?" Joe was his cocky usual self once in-front of the Gallagher Girls, and I nearly rolled my eyes

"When conducting manual surveillance on a subject in a three-man rotation, the person with visual contact is the," I could imagine his eyes trailing across the girls, looking for his perfect prey, "Eyeball!"

"Correct. The person within sight of the eyeball is the," "Backup."

"And the final person?" "The reserve."

"Very good. Now remember, rotate frequently, but not too your pace and spacing, and above all."

The van came to a stop, and I watched mildly interested, as Harvey slipped from the car to make contact- presumably.

I heard someone rustling around as Joe fideled around with the TV wires, trying to make it work and I turned to face the Gallagher Girls. All 13 faves turned back.

"In the field, ladies, you can never expect to have things go as planned. I fully expect you to master the ability to improvise. For example, tonight's mission requires a vehicle not owned by the Gallagher Academy. So"—I motioned around us—"I made alternative arrangements."

He passed the comms to the trio. Cameron and Rebecca taking charge- like only their parents would do. The thought quickly forced me to MJ, but i pushed it away quicker.

"Basic comms units. Don't be afraid to use them," as I explained, Joe took the time to show each object to them,"There are cameras contained within these three items, which will allow us to follow and critique your progress."

The cross swung from his forefinger, the screen showing them, proving it was a camera.

"These are for our benefit tonight— not yours. It's a just teaching exercise, ladies, but don't expect us to come to your rescue." I almost snorted again, of course we would come to their rescue.

The carnival music suddenly got louder as the back door opened, and the first thing I saw was a bright orange cap as peeked in.

"They're close," he said. Mr. Solomon plugged a wire into a speaker, and in the next second I heard my twin sister's voice joining the carnival music. Rachel could always follow through.

"It's great weather for running."

"There are three types of subjects who will always be the most difficult to surveil." I ticked them off on with my finger fingers, giving visible representation as he spoke.  
People who are trained. People who suspect they may be followed. And people you know," He paused, "Ladies, this is your lucky night." He pulled a black-and-white photo from the pocket of his jacket and held it up. The face was new to them, but the voice that came blaring through the speaker saying, "Yes. I should probably get back into that habit myself," was one they knew very well.

"Oh, bollocks!" Bex exclaimed, and Liz dropped her note cards.

"Smith!" Cameron cried, "You expect us to recon Professor Smith?"

"But… but… but… he never leaves the grounds," She protested, trying to find her words. "He would never enter an unsecured area on a whim. This goes against the subject's pattern of behavior!"

But Joe only smiled. He knew it was an impossible mission—that was why he'd given it to them. He wanted to break them.

"Trust me, ladies," he said with somber respect, " no one knows Mr. Smith's patterns of behavior."

I tossed a thick file folder, from the compartment in front of me, toward them.

"The one thing we do know is that tonight is the Roseville town carnival, and Mr. Smith, for good or bad, is a man who loves his funnel cakes."

"Well, have fun!" Rachel's voice came blaring through the speakers, she'd probably never tell Joseph and I how she managed to get the most secure man ever, to go out for fun.

I heard her breathing become harsh as she pounded the pavement. Of course she needed plausible deniability.

"Your mission, is to find out what he drinks with those funnel cakes."

"Subject's at the fire house, wise guy, he's all yours." Not the code name I would have chosen... (but wise ass was probably not appropriate).  
Solomon thrust his arm out to Cammie.

I knew she wouldn't refuse- couldn't refuse with all of the spy adrenaline running through the blood we shared... Even if trailing Smith was one hell of a first mission.

"In or out?"

She grabbed the cross, and I grinned. I couldn't wait to see the daughter of Mathew Morgan and Rachel Cameron go at it or with the daughter of Abe Baxter and Grace Moriarty.

I climbed into the back with Joe and the girls as soon as the trio jumped out, taking the open spot beside him.


	16. Time-outs or tap-outs

A/N: HELLO AGAIN! Glad it's Thursday again, so I am here. I am currently live posting now and by live posting, I mean that I have to actually write every week because we caught up to how much I have already.

A/NN: Also, on the companion story for this. I would like to make it clear the "Before loving you killed me" itself is a one-shot but I was thinking of making it a multi-fic thing. Like Chapter 1 was Lanie trying to rescue Warren, and maybe chapter 2 will just be here graduation speech and then chapter 3 will be something entirely different that happened before this story. Thoughts?

ON TO THE STORY. I HOPE YOU ENJOY.

~Shay

P.S Lanie has a "flashback" in the middle of a convo, so I've decided that ill **_Bold and Italize everything she's seeing and hearing during the flashback._**

Any questions, just ask! :)

* * *

I didn't realize how stressful it would be to watch my niece and goddaughter out on their first op. I knew they were perfectly safe, but I was on my toes looking for the first sign of danger. A thrill filled me every time Liz and Bex lost sight of her. She was so much like Matt. A Chameleon who could blend in with anything or one.  
We were moving to soon. The moment Bex and Liz were made, Joe switched vans with the girls and I remained behind to clear the van with whoever Joe sent to get rid of the supplies.

I could hear Smith on the coms, loud and clear.

"-and you're going to tell me where Joe and Melantha Solomon are this instant."

My eyes narrowed as a burly man approached me at the back of the van, his arms open to help- but I was listening intently. Don't you bloody dare.

The was a pregnant pause, almost to long to bare, before Bex said "I had a craving for a corn dog." That's my girl, but now we had to get out quickly before Smith made it back to school.

I sealed the doors, and followed the man to his red Chevy, not very showy and Smith didn't even glance in our direction as we crossed paths with each other.

I could still hear Cameron as she dug through the trash, "mission accomplished." She whispered and I brought my hand up to my mouth- looking out the window to hide my grin.

I didn't have to hide it when another voice came over the coms, it was wiped of by itself.

"Hi, there. So, do you come here often?" The boy asked, and I sat up as I tried to hear every detail about this kid.

Definitely a teenager, native to roseville but I couldn't stop coming to the biggest fact, he had seen her.

"See, you don't even have to answer that, because I know all the trash cans in town, and while this is a very nice trash can, it doesn't look like the kind of trash can a girl like you would normally scavenge from. Now, the trash cans on Seventh Street, those are some very nice trash cans."

If it was Rachel instead if Cammie, or anyone but Cammie, I would have gagged at the lame attempt of flirting. But it wasn't, and I didn't.

The Com went out for a minute as the distance increased between us, and I immediately demanded the driver stop the car.

"-to play with bottles, but her last one broke, and then she got glass in her paw. Suzie! That's my cat's name—the one with the glass in her paw—not that I have any other ones— cats, I mean, not bottles. That's why I needed this bottle. I'm not even sure she'll want another bottle what-"

It cut out again, and I was a split second from crushing the wig from my eye, but I knew it was likely from her water damaged piece.

"Lady, we have to go. William said he needs you to put together a recording for him before some guy gets back."

I wondered why this man had agreed to help empty the truck. He knew it was a dirty job, but he wasn't Joe's personal friend since he didn't even know Joe's name... It didn't matter much, I nodded my agreement. Leaving Cam alone with a boy.

Once we made it back to the academy, Joe ushered me into a room with a laptop and various photos of all three girls.

"You thought they would all get caught?"

"I didn't think Smith would miss Cammie." He stated, nothing less than factual- but of course no where any Gallagher Girls could hear him be wrong.

"He's in for a hell of a shock."

"You have 6 minutes and 23 seconds until Smith is back and 11 minutes until Cammie is back." After he finished talking to me, he turned to Harvey who had just walked into the room with us.

"Good job tonight, Harvey." I said with a smile, but Joe prevented him from responding by stepping between us.

"When you see Cammie, tell her to come here for a debriefing." Joe said, shaking Smiths hand- which was the most thanks he would get from Joe but I smiled to him from behind Joe.

"I hope you had fun, Harvey." I smiled again and he nodded before leaving.

"Quit being a boy, Joe." I said sharply, but all in the spirit of teasing.

Joe huffed and rolled his eyes playfully, but left me alone to work with what I had.

I was nearly finished with the setup when Smith came storming in with the two girls and I opened my decoy tab.

"Smith? What's going on?" I asked innocently and he clenched his jaw.

"Why did I find Rebecca and Elizabeth tailing me in roseville?" He asked, and I decided to play coy.

"You didn't find, Cammie?" I asked, her nickname like acid on my tongue, but Smiths reaction was worth it, "they normally travel together."

"That doesn't matter. I don't appreciate your class trying to stalk me." He said harshly as Joe strutted in.

"Hey, we've both been right here discussing the Austrian revolution in 1903. It caused a lot of problems in America you know." Joe said as I tried to dig up information from my cellar of knowledge.

"It caused a large influx of immigrants fleeing religious persecution and we weren't ready for them." I said and Joe nodded his agreement, but Smith sighed.

"We will take Liz and Bex off your hands." Joe offered, motioning for them to sit on the floor beside me.

The moment Smith left, Joe gave the girls a disproving look. I handed him the lap top and followed him to the classroom- closing the door behind us.

All of the girls were silent, probably a threat from Joe that silenced them, or told a lesson that blew their minds.

Joe walked to the back of the class- the unseen intimidation tactic. I did the opposite of him. I sat at his desk, my feet propped on the desk. We did this more than I liked to admit, he was the intimidation so I was understanding- but once the person approached me, I switched roles. Trapping them in honey and then eating them alive.

I observed Cammie closely once she stepped into the glass with that dammed bottle in her clutches.

She stood there for a long while, watching everyone before she finally said, "I got the bottle."

I concealed my disappointment. The first thing out of her mouth should've been demanding to know where her friends were.

The walls morphed into dirt as I vividly remembered the first time our group was captured, but I could still here Joe and Cammie in the background.

 ** _"I won't say a goddamn word until I know where the people I came with are." I snarled, knowing someone was in the room even though I couldn't see them._**

"Ask the question Ms Morgan, don't you want to know where your friends are?"

 ** _"Tell me where they are, or I kill you slowly when I find them." The threat was empty at the moment, but he would die as soon as I was able to move._**

"These people are very good at what they do. They know Bex can take the punches; what hurts Bex most is listening to her friend scream."

 _ **I listened to Ray screaming. She always had low pain tolerance, but this was what built her resistance.**_

"And she is screaming—she will be for about six hours, until she becomes so dehydrated she can't form sounds, and then they start on Bex. They have special things in mind for her."

 ** _She screamed for hours. She stopped so suddenly that I thought they had finally kill her and I felt more relief than I should have. At least she wasn't hurt anymore. Then they came for me, with a knife coated in what I could only assume was Rachel's blood- and I lost it._**

"This is what you're signing up for."

 ** _I killed them all, and I never knew any emotion stronger than the protection I felt when I found her alive and wounded._**

"Stop it!" Cameron yelled, snapping me out of the flashback right before she dropped the bottle.

The neck snapped, shattering, sending shards of glass across the floor. I seen the reflection of the projector in the shard, but I didn't want to see my monstrous creation. My Frankenstein.

"You lost two-thirds of your team. Your friends are gone." I said, my voice flat from the intensity of what I remembered.

"No." Cameron demanded, "Stop."

I can't stop. I can't stop trying to change your mind and warn you. This is not the life you want, Cameron.

"No, Cammie, once this starts—it doesn't stop." I couldn't stop even when I seen her tears. "It never stops."

I noticed Joe turn to the class from beside me.

"Who wants to be a spy now?" I asked before Joe started his speech.

No one raised a hand. No one spoke.

"Next semester, ladies, Covert Operations will be an optional field of study, but this semester, it's mandatory. No one gets to back out now because they're scared. But you won't ever be as scared as you are right now—not this semester. On that you have my word."

No. They wouldn't be this scared again this semester. But years from now? When they were on a mission? They would be. And they would find a way home until they weren't.

I was momentarily shocked when the light came on. Normally Joe had me do his magic moments for him, so I had no idea who had turned on the light for him.

Joe started for the door, but stopped and I trailed directly behind him.

"And ladies, if you aren't scared right now, we don't want you anyway."

I slid the partition that connected the rooms together and allowed Cameron to see that her friends were okay, but then Joe and I left without another glance.

If there was one thing we knew, it was how to make an exit


	17. meet ups or mess ups

A/N: Hello everyone! I haven't had a review lately but I see in the stats that y'all have been reading, so it's okay! I just assume no review isn't a bad review, because if you hated it- you'd let me know.

A/NN: There is another small author's note at the bottom of the page, more of a question than me just randomly blubbering.

ENJOY!

~Shay

* * *

Belle hadn't contacted me since I seen her four days ago, and the girls hadn't quite forgiven me. So I decided it was time to do the bonding that Rachel had so eloquently suggested while we were stripping in a van (which was a family normal scenario considering we talked about dinner while giving the king of Denmark a sponge bath).

I only passed a few students so early in the morning but they gave me a wide berth as I walked through the halls with pep in my step.

I was unusually happy today, but drinking wine and gossiping with Elena last night. She was a senior when I was a seventh grader, but I never knew how cool Dabney was until she told me about the time she trained a cobra to bite anyone that got close to her door while on a mission in Bangladesh.

I stopped at Cam and Bex's door, wondering if the sophomore girls had booby-trapped their rooms but decided against it. They weren't yet old enough to realize their personal space was dangerous.

I grabbed Cameron first, slinging her over my shoulder and then grabbed Rebecca by her waist from their respective beds. I barely made it out the door before I was being hit, and I deposited them both on the floor with laughter.

"Girls! Time is of the essence, follow me!" I said before taking off at a run- hoping they would come after me instead of going back to their room for backup or clothing.

As predictable (and curious) as always, they followed me all the way to my class room but I could hear them groaning to each other. Cam and Bex were still whining when I pulled open the closet of Magic, but cut their objections off as they seen the massive room.

"In. Go on. We're going out, and I'm dressing you." I demanded

They were silent from sleepiness, but they were cooperative as I tossed clothes for them to try on- after I fed them of course.

"Aunt Solomon, what's going on?"

By the time bex was born, I was already married to Warren so she called me Aunt Solomon" since Solomon was all her mother and father ever called us and Warren was dead before she was old enough to remember.

"It's a surprise you will both enjoy." I stated confidently but "hopefully" echoed in my mind.

Neither of them said another word to me as I handed them clothes, but I could hear them conversing with one another when my back was turned.

"Do you think she's going to take us on an op?" Bex whispered

"Probably not, but I haven't heard about her getting a Gallagher vehicle. Which means it's something she doesn't want us to be identified with while doing."

"Do you know what that means?" Bex asked, her voice breaking the whisper.

"What?" Cam questioned back, sounding very unsure as I turned to face them both.

"You get to see my car." I answered; both looked ashamed to have been caught.

When all was said and over, I had Bex in leather pants and a wife beater while Cammie was in shorts and a long sleeved mesh shirt with a vest covering her. I never got to give people makeovers, which was why I would love introducing the students to the closet.

Neither of them seemed to dislike what I put them, but they weren't praising my excellent material matching skills. Not my most useful skill, but knowing the difference between silk and satin had saved my ass at least three times on three different occasions.

"Does mom know you're taking us off campus?"

"Oh please, you sneak off campus enough to not care anymore. Let's go." I replied, recalling Rachel's distressed phone calls freshman year, while I changed into my inconspicuous outfit- A pair of skinny jeans and a silk top.

Although I sort-of had Ray's permission, I used the secret passage in my room to avoid anyone that could potentially run back to Joe or Ray before we could get out.

I let Bex drool over my car for a moment before I shuffled them both into the car. This was my car, but it was registered to Clarice Dominique- which was the license I had in the compartment on the passenger side.

Bex jumped into shotgun before Cam could call it, so she slid into the middle in the back and I turned the volume up on the radio.

When we passed by a store, I stopped for them.

"Go in and grab what you want, get snacks and drinks." I told them as I pulled cash out of an envelope under my seat- my emergency cash in case I went on the run again.

I followed them in and grabbed a couple bottles of water while they took their time going through the candies, drinks, and sodas.

"Whatever calories you eat, you'll burn off later." I told them, which seemed to help their decision making.

I was so caught up in watching Bex and Cam that I almost didn't catch a familiar someone walking in.

"Clarice?" I heard her call and I began cursing in my head, I didn't think she would recognize me- and I sure didn't want the girls to meet my alias and blow my cover.

"Oh Belle. We seem to run into each other in the oddest places." I said with a friendly smile, still watching my nieces out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm have to admit, I noticed you in here and wanted to apologize for standing you up. I meant to call but I thought you would be angry with me and I had work so I couldn't call when I had the courage."

"I'm wasn't angry at you, it just wasn't a particularly good day for me." I replied, remembering how irritated I was with Joseph and the seniors.

"Can I make up for it?" She asked, her face blooming with a blush and I laughed lightly.

"Drinks tomorrow at 8?" I offered and she nodded just as my girls came up.

I was deciding whether or not to introduce them but I knew Belle's curiosity was burning through her eyes.

"Belle, these are my nieces. This is Cameron and Rebecca." I said, and Belle was beginning to greet then when her phone rang.

I took a peak at the ID to find the caller labeled 'Babishka'. It confirmed her Russian claim.

"I'm sorry but I have to take this. It was a pleasure Rebecca and Cameron. I'll message you later, Clarice." Belle said apologetically, before she stepped forward and kissed my cheeks- my time in Paris hadn't left my body yet since I did the action without a second thought.

Paying for the items felt weird. I hadn't paid for something at a store since I left Gallagher. It was very homey. Bex and Cam behind me like two normal girls, and I was buying their unhealthy items like a normal aunt... a normal mother. The thought made me sad, but only for a moment when Cam and Bex went skipping to the car with laughter.

Cam rode shotgun this time, and the car ride wasn't nearly so tense as before which helped my good mood along.

We drove down highways and back roads for the better part of two hours- listening to music and singing along with it. I'd probably have to thank my twin later, if she didn't already know with her strange twin telepathy.

I pulled the car over in a familiar ditch and popped the trunk as the girls hopped out.

"What are we doing?" Cam asked cautiously, peaking into my trunk.

"Well, you two are going to put on these blindfolds."

1"Why do we need blindfolds?"

"Because if I ever need to go on the run, I don't need anyone torturing the location of my house out of you." I replied sarcastically, but completely honest.

"What?"

They both spoke simultaneously and I nearly laughed at their incredulous reaction.

"I'm taking you to my house and I'm introducing you both to someone you should've met by now, and someone I haven't seen in a while. Let's go, blind folds on."

* * *

A/N: Who do you think she's taking them to meet?


	18. Of Monsters and Men

A/N: hey everyone! Thanks for the review Musicmanipulator and Char! Music, you gave me a great idea that I shan't reveal because I do that way to much and give away the story line, and don't worry about not reviewing Char! Make sure you do good on your art exam and the mocks! I'm glad you're reading the story even if you don't review and I'm glad you like whats going on.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, I intended to end the bonding this chapter but some stuff came up!

Hope you like it!

Enjoy

~Shay

* * *

I was a bundle of nerves as we approached the house, I was so nervous that I nearly forgot they couldn't see through the blindfold or that they had the blindfolds on at all.

I couldn't possible forget the briefcase I made Cameron hold, it was banging against her leg the whole time but she asked about it after a few yards.

"Are there guns in here?"

"Yes." I replied- my calm tone a stark contrast her tense one.

"I knew it! Cove op mission!" Bex squealed, and I would've done a double take of it weren't for my years of spy training. Baxter's didn't squeal.

Roughly fifty yards from the house, I spun the girls around and took off the blindfolds. I was too confident in their ability to track to take any chances, I didn't want them to be able to find the house.

I only had time to turn around when a shot came whizzing out of the house and into my chest- throwing me backwards and to the ground before I could get my balance. I had forgotten how much that hurt.

Cammie and Bex dived to the ground, both scrambling on their stomachs to get to me as I tried to catch my breath, I was hit square in the diaphragm by the dammed thing.

As I tried to stand, Bex and Cammie were both trying to force me down but they hadn't reached their full force strength yet.

"I call interference!" I shouted, motioning to the girls before dipping my finger into the paint on my shirt, the shirt was definitely ruined.

The door opened up and my second favorite person in the whole world came barreling out with a smile.

"Baby Solomon!" He shouted, before picking me up and twirling me like I weighed nothing more than a feather.

"Big Townsend!" I shouted back and peppered his face with kisses, the girls still on the ground in shock.

"Girls, meet Kile Townsend. Kile, meet Cameron Morgan and Rebecca Baxter."

He kissed them both on the cheek as soon as they stood.

"You both come from good blood! The Baxters and Morgans have been dominating international espionage as of late. You Solomons have been keeping a low profile since Warren passed, but I can't blame you given the circumstances." Kile said with just enough carelessness to irritate me.

I glared at him, but he was complete obvious in everything except the two girls who were engrossed with him and his stories.

"Warren Solomon? That sounds familiar." Cammie said and Bex nodded her agreement- and I visibly flinched.

His name sounded wrong coming from her lips. He deserved people to pronounce his name with respect and awe- but his name was so casually dropped by her. Granted she didn't know who Warren was, but his name was unbearable wrong coming from her.

"It should, he's your uncle."

"Will you shut your mouth?" I slightly snapped at Kile, remembering why I always waited until the last possible minute to see him again- he always did this on purpose.

"He was my husband." I revealed to them before Kile could make it sound worse than it was.

"Was?" Bex pointed out.

"He's dead."

"Sad thing too, he died just months after-"

I didn't wait for Kile to finish his sentence, I slammed my hand against his throat and his choking silenced him.

"Kile. I love you, I really do, but if you keep talking about Warren and MJ, I'll kill you." I said quietly, to quiet for Bex and cam, but plenty loud for Kile.

"Is everyone inside already?" I asked and he shook his head.

"We've been waiting on you and on the Eatons." He replied dutifully, already forgetting about being hit (like always)

"Is your brother here?" I questioned, keeping the conversation light and out of top secret for the sake of the kids.

"No Edward is off saving the world." Kile sighed.

I knew his relationship was strained with Ed, much like Abby and I but unlike us, Kile attempted to mend his relationship but also unlike Abby and I- Ed had a reason to be angry.

Es and Kile were notorious in the CIA world for what when down between them but last I heard, Ed had switched agencies and cut contacts with everyone else.

Once we were in the house, I dismissed Kile back down to the basement where everyone else was and set the girls free.

"This is a picture of my parents?"

I didn't even need to look at the picture Bex was holding, but I did anyways. For the comfort of familiarity.

"That was after graduation. It was the first mission we had that was in Britain so Ray and I ran into Abe and Grace." I explained, not telling them that our mark was the guy taking the picture and that he was dead 37 hours afterwards.

I picked up another photograph, this was a pic of Cammie and Bex when they were 7. They had both just finished a maze and had the biggest grins on their face because both of their parents hadn't made their way out yet.

"You don't have any pictures of you and. And... "

"And Warren?" I provided for Bex and she nodded slowly.

"Yeah." I said simply, and turned to find Cameron gone- I knew she was took quiet and I gave Bex a look for trying to distract me.

I didn't need to look for her, because I heard her exclaim from the basement along with the pounding music that was coming from the speakers, but I felt the vibrations as soon as we walked into the house and was surprised they hadn't.

Bex went dashing over to check on her friend and only began to observe when she was sure Cameron was fine, but both girls whirled to face me.

"What?" Cammie asked in awe, not even forming a full sentence.

"Paintball. Agencies reunion plus friends and family that know about Gallagher so you're free to go full out."

"So the guns in the case were paintball guns?"

"Yes."

Cammie sighed and brought her hand to her face in embarrassment as Bex tried to play the facade of indifference, but I noticed the blush creeping up from her cheeks.

"You two go on down, I need to check on something."

I made sure they did as they were told before I turned on my heel and went up the stairs where I was afraid Cammie had gone.

There was only one room up here, and it stretched all the way at the end of the hall. It had originally been an attic, but Warren and I made it into a summer project and converted it into a second floor.

I walked down the hall, dragging both hands against the narrow wall and felt scratched from Warren on both sides. He was much bigger than I, and always had trouble getting through without causing a mess.

I stopped at the door, my hand on the knob but my hand seized up. I couldn't move it no matter how much I wanted to.

"Just do it." I could hear Warren say, could feel him mocking the unintentional fear I had mad for myself.

I leaned my head against the door and took a gasping breath before I released the handle as if it had shocked me.

I fled the hall, tears stifled, to go back to my girls and my friends. I wouldn't do it now. I wouldn't do it with people present. I would do it later when I was alone.

These were the lies I told myself. They were the lies I lived with.

I found Cammie waiting for me at the basement door and I wiped my self pity from my face in exchange for the look Bex failed to pull of earlier. After all, Indifference was my go to.


	19. Of pains and paint-balls

A/N: Sorry this was so late, I procrastinate heavily but this wifi was being ridiculous today.

Hope you all like it!

Enjoy

~Shay

* * *

The teams were divided up by agency; FBI in blue, CIA in red, NSA in silver and SS in purple. When I gave them the designated, full body uniforms and a ear piece, my nieces gave me wide eyes.

"You have a paintball field under your basement?" Bex asked with admiration evident.

"This is only one of the fields. When we play groups like this, I put up the half mile field but if we play capture the flag, I pull up the biggest field we have." I explained with a smile, this was my favorite part of the house construction.

"How does that work?" Cam questioned even further as she took in her surroundings.

"When the game is over, I blow a whistle that basically tells everyone to get their as- to get off of the field and they'll accumulate over here. After a two minute wait, the field folds in on itself and then turns into the desired field."

I thrived on the looks of amazement on their faces, I was officially the cool aunt. Being a super spy isn't enough nowadays, I thought bitterly.

"You know the rules!" Kate shouted over the small mass of people, she was the oldest here but was still one of the hardest to take down and she knew it.

"If you're shot, put your gun at your side and both hands in the air until you're off the base. Anyone under 21 takes two shots, anyone above is one shot. Otherwise, everything else is fair game." I listed loudly, mostly for Bex and Cam, but also as a reminder to everyone else.

"Let's have a down right filthy game and may the best team win!" Kate said with a grin, she never had to speak loud, she was always heard.

"Which is the CIA, if you didn't get the memo." Gabriel Eaton declared as he walked into the room with his fiancee in tow.

Everyone loved Gabriel, but Jane was so reserved that only a few people ever interacted with her. She was a menace on the paintball field though, and could even win if someone didn't take her out immediately.

"The rules are slightly modified today, including hand to hand combat. You are not allowed to make these girls bleed nor are you allowed to do any immeasurable damage, including head blows with anything other than paintballs."

Bex and Cam looked at me as if I had suddenly grown four heads but everyone else seemed to brush it off.

"If Grace or Rachel thought I put you in harms way without any safety precautions they would kick my ass, if not kill me all together."

"At least we're allowed to play." Cam said, giving Bex reassurance.

Everyone ran out onto the field and into their respective corners- when the lights suddenly went out.

I barley hid my squeal of glee behind the collective groans that rose up. Lights out meant night vision glasses on... and I lived for sensory deprevation (kind of).

Once the glasses were on, we began planning. 45 seconds to plan until the buzzer went out.

"Assuming the SS is teaming with us again-" I laughed at the irony of that- "we can split our team into an uneven 3 group. It's the usual group except Lanie now has two kids instead of being by herself." Kile whispered in a commanding tone and we all nodded as if this plan was different from anything else he said.

"No, I heard the FBI were planning to team with SS. Blind side us and take the winning streak." Gabriel said, and the hiss of betrayal went around.

"It was about time the betrayal happened. What's the word from the NSA?" I asked him, hoping his fiancee would have given something up.

"No idea. Honestly. We got in an argument about her cat and she wants paypack."

"Great, Gabriel. The one time we need them, you have to piss off the contact. Only you." Amaya butted in, she was the desk jockey of our group, everyone else was a field agent.

The bell sounded but it was only Cam and Bex that made any movement. Nobody every moved when it went off, because we never finished planning in a short time.

"I won't be sniping this time. It's footwork with the girls." I offered, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"I got you. I'll take up a position by the FBI base." Katherine assured me, she was the only other person who could make a half mile shot.

"So that leaves; Kile, Amaya, Gabriel and Shawn." I said, giving Shawn a wink as I said his name, we constantly flirted back and forth with each other- mostly because of that steak out a couple years ago.

"I call Shawn." Amaya demanded, grabbing his arm and strutting off into the dark room, their green silouhettes disappearing until only the neon glow of red was the only thing I could see.

I gave the rest of the group a nod before they followed after Amaya and Shawn, and turned to Cammie and Bex.

"The FBI are a personal high target followed by the Secret Service, the NSA are mostly your computer nerds and get eliminated first. Watch out for Gabriel's wife though, she's dangerous. Follow me, split up if I'm tagged. Check with me before you take a shot. I like to win."

"We've got your back, Aunt Lanie." Cammie said, and I nearly seen Rachel looking at me from years.

"Yea. Let's do this." Bex agreed, pulling the safety off her gun.

The battle was still going on an hour and a half later. Jane was the last person left for the NSA, the FBI had four people, SS had three, and CIA was down to Cammie and I. Bex got taken out when a huge fire-fight broke down and we were flanked at the hour marker but she took it like a champ.

I heard Cammie shoot her gun, and red paint splattered on someone from the FBI, a couple boxes away from us. I grabbed my niece's arm and shoved her in front of me as we ran. Cam didn't know it, but that FBI agent was being stalked by two Secret service agents and now they would be after us.

Cam got to far ahead of me, coming up on the most common trap location so I lunged for her collar and dragged her to the ground. There was an opening under a bar behind us and I motioned for Cam to slid under with me. She barley made it before the group came rushing around the corner.

I recognized Jane with the two secret service agents and one FBI agent. I nearly giggled, I loved being high value but we had a decision to make.

"Cameron, here is how it goes. 4 people is too good of a thing to pass up. Either I take the shot and risk getting caught, or you take the shot and risk getting caught. One stays, one runs."

"I'll stay. You have a better chance of catching everyone else." Cam decided quickly, too quickly.

"You have the double tap rule, you have a better chance of making it to everyone else."

"I have the double tap rule, so I have a better chance of making it out. They'll be expecting you."

She made sense, so I nodded and slid out the back. I made a run for it, but still heard the popping and it made me flinch to think I left Cam alone.

The score board flickered five minutes later, bring the latest body count up. Two for the FBI, 1 for the SS and 1 for the CIA. It bothered me to find out the Cammie didn't make it out, but I was proud she brought down four people in the process.

The game didn't last much longer afterwards. The SS and FBI turned on each other until only a weasel of a man named Landon was left. I took him down easily after using a mirror to make a reflection.

After our win, my team rushed onto the field for a quick celebration brawl with each other.

Capture the flag was much quicker and with a much more brutal brawl. Now that we didn't have paintball guns, our fists were our only weapons.

While we were in the scrap, Bex and Cam snuck off and managed to grab the secret service flag and the NSA flag before they were drawn into the fight. It was hard watching myself and them, which was why I was blindsided by Jane. I know she only meant to hit me hard enough to make me go down, but she caught me at my brow and I didn't wake up for another hour.

Jane, Bex and Cam were frantically hovering over me. I groaned as I sat up, reaching up to the throbbing sore to find it stitched.

"You made me bleed?" I asked with shock and Jane looked ready to cry.

"I didn't mean to." She squeaked.

How intimidating was I? I knew the new kids in the CIA worked a wide berth around me, but that was because of the horror stories they heard about me in Peru.

"You're fine, Jane. Happens all the time. Now I'm sorry to sleep and run, but these girls have class tomorrow and I know they need time to work."

Jane still looked mortified, but nodded her agreement. I stood and immediately sat back down, feeling nauseous again.

"Oh I don't think so, missy. If you're that dizzy, I'll drive you all home."

I gave Shawn a smirk, but didn't argue. Last thing I wanted was to crash my beautiful car.

I reached my arms out to Shawn, he was like my best friend when we were recruited and knew me almost as well as anyone in my blood.

"Shawny." I whined when he didn't immediately give in, and he sighed before he came over and let me get on his back.

"Blind folds on girls." I demanded with a wave, and they didn't protest- even though they knew how many people knew this location.

Once we began the hike, I rested my head against Shawn and drifted back to sleep. I could still hear their feet crunching against the leaves in my mind.


	20. Shoot-ups and Shot downs

A/N: Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed the bonding day, but of course Lanie got hurt (as usual). Hope you like the new chapter!

A/NN: Sorry it took so long to upload, I forgot today was Thursday and spent the whole day away from my house to celebrate a birthday.

Enjoy!

~Shay

* * *

On my way to woodrun the next morning, I sent a message to Belle explaining that I might need a raincheck for tonight. I intended to cancel on her as soon as the plans were made, but I would probably need a couple drinks anyways. It depended on how this evening would go.

My sniper rifle was in the passenger seat beside me along with my backpack, and I was flooring it through back roads when my phone dinged Belle's response.

 **From contact:** Beauty and the beast-  
 _That's fine, but I hope we can get together later. Today is going to be a bitch, and drinks with you will make it better ;)_

I had started to reply when I heard sirens behind me and I did a silent thanks to God that I hot wired a car from meads valley instead of Rosewood.

I didn't know what to do with the cop. They wouldn't like that gun, and would most likely take me in for prints. In that case, they would find a woman who is wanted in 4 countries- probably the cops first big collar. If I didn't have the weapon, I could've talked- or flirted- my way out of trouble.

I dialed Charlotte's number quickly as I pulled my car into the ditch. She didn't pick up- not that I expected her to, so I left a message.

"1 civilian casualty. An officer." I sighed and hung up.

I pushed the suitcase onto the floor and reached into the cubby for my handgun. I hated using a gun, but they were definitely useful.

The cop walked up slowly, and I groaned as I seen the swagger of a fresh faced rookie. He couldn't be anymore than 25.

I let the gun lay at my side as I rolled down the window.

"Good morning, ma'am."

"Good evening, officer. May I ask why you pulled me over?" I questioned, hoping the answer had nothing to do with running my name.

"Just wanted to inform you that woodrun is hosting a parade and this road will be blocked at 5." He said with a slight smile, and I slightly adjusted so myself to cover the gun better.

"Oh dear, really? I'm just headed to see my sister." I tried playing the clueless dame but it was never a role I was good at.

"Do you need directions for an alternate route?" He asked, buying into my role.

"Oh no thank you, darling. I'll just stay at my sister's house."

"Have a good day, ma'am. Enjoy the festival." He said, hit my window lightly with a clap, and I gave him my biggest smile.

"I hope your shift isn't to long, darling."

The moment he moved from the window, I threw the gun back into its hiding place and Charlotte called.

"Please tell me you didn't."

"I didn't." I gasped, taking in a deep breath.

"Thank god, killing a cop is the last thing you need." She groaned, and then hung up before I could say anything.

"Thank god." I mumbled before I pulled back on the road

Charlotte had staked the place out for me, and mapped out all of the locations for a good sniper nest but I wasn't quiet convinced. The only good location I could spot on the map was an old church bell tower, but it didn't have much of an escape route. I would just have to dismantle the gun, dash for my car and peel the hell out of town. I didn't like the idea of using a church for my killing grounds, not for any religious reason but because the secret service would be looking at it carefully- it was the typical movie location.

I was able to reach the town without anymore scares, and I set up in the bell tower at 1:47. Ten minutes behind schedule, but I would be sitting up here for hours before any action happened- which is where the pack came in handy.

I pulled out one of the only books I owned, and began reading.

 _Behavioral Science, the FBI section that deals with serial murder, is on the bottom floor of the Academy building at Quantico, halfburied in the earth. Clarice Starling reached it flushed after a fast walk from Hogan's Alley on the firing range. She had grass in her hair and grass stains on her FBI Academy windbreaker from diving to the ground under fire in an arrest problem on the range._

At 5:30, the bell tower snapped me out of my reading haze with splitting redundancy but it was good since it was time for busy.

I put in the earpiece I had been given that was linked to the Secret Service channel, and listened to the chatter around them.

"-watch your mouth-"

"-just check the damn windows again-"

"-this is so fucking stupid-"

"-watch the asshole in the hood-"

"-I said watch your mouths-"

"-yes sir-"

The last part had me raising an eyebrow. That last command was from a woman, but everyone I heard previously had responded with sir... it was definitely interesting since she had either requested it or they were trying to demean here.

I grabbed my binoculars and began looking for Rakim when the earpiece crackled again.

"-I think I see movement on the bell tower-"

I froze in place instead of diving to the floor like a rookie. If they thought I was apart of the infrastructure, I would be in the clear.

"-maybe it's that guy you shot from the house-"

Knowing a woman had shot me, made me feel strangely better about the whole situation but I had a score to settle now.

"-I don't know, but I'll check it out-"

That's when I moved. Even with the eyes of the SS on me, I knew where Rakim was at that exact moment and I would take the shot.

"-we've got a sniper on the bell tower-" one of them shouted as I lined up my shot and I didn't wait to pull the trigger.

I waited long enough to confirm the kill before grabbing the gun and scaling the side of the building. I would dismantle it later.

I man came running around the building with his weapon drawn and I shot him in the chest without looking. He went down and didn't stir, I didn't want to kill him but I wanted him to stay down.

I had just started the car (pretty silent for a civilian vehicle) when another agent came sliding around the corner with a whole hoard hot on her heels. Several of them dropped to the agent on the ground while the rest began shooting at me.

Like any good agents, they shot for the tires and windows. To disable the car and disable me, but I was also a good agent.

I grabbed; my bag, the hand gun and my rifle, and climbed out the front window in the cease fire.

The crowd was already in a frenzy, so I wouldn't bring much attention unless someone screamed shooter. I was able to blend, but the rifle was a bright red sign to my location- I needed to find a place to dismantle it and under a parade float was my best option.

Some of the floats were still going, but nobody was on the outside where the could be shot so I quickly climbed under the 'cycreek cougars' mascot float and sat on one of the metal beams that supported it.

I heard children crying in the float as I disassembled my weapon and began to feel horrible. What if he had a kid?

I remembered how I felt when I heard my mother and father had been killed... I wanted revenge and hunted the their killer but was never able to get my claws on their boss. I vowed I would kill her as soon as the opportunity arose- and I was always waiting for it.

I managed to fit the rifle in my pack, but only after I took out my emergency clothes. I stripped out of my clothing, letting them fall piece by piece from the float in the hopes that the cleanup crew would just assume it was from the riot and into the new clothes.

I don't know what I was thinking when I packed the emergency clothing. Construction boots, shorts and a wife beater- not very practical or chameleon like, although I normally left that to Warren.

I waited a couple blocks before I climbed out of the float and managed to blend quickly with the large crowd gathering outside the forming security line.

I didn't wait around, I walked half a mile and wired yet another vehicle. Once I was a safe distance from the scene of the crime, I felt myself relax and also feel the pain.

I pulled the car over a checked my body. No bullet shots, but I had a graze and several shards of glass had either scratched me or embedded into my skin.

I sent Belle a text while I pulled the glass out of my legs.

 **To contact:** beauty and the beast-  
 _You're right, today was a bitch. You on for drinks still?_

She took absolutely no time replying.

 **From contact** : Beauty and the beast-  
 _I was very right. Drinks sound amazing, but how about dinner instead? Little chardonnay with a nice chianti? ;)_

I giggled at the messaged and then cleared my throat, checking my surroundings to make sure no one caught me giggling like a little girl.

 **To contact** : beauty and the beast-  
 _Sounds divine. Meet you at old maid's, same time as the drinks. You can tell me about your bitch of a day._

I was actually excited for dinner, and seeing Belle again. She was pretty nice and had both book smarts as well as street smarts.

I looked to the clock and sighed, an hour and thirty minutes to get home and get dressed. I already knew what I would wear, so it wasn't to big of a problem. Rakim was already off my mind.


	21. Dates and doubles

A/N: Hello again everyone! Hope you enjoy the new chapter, it's 2379 words. The longest chapter so far. Have a good spring break! (Like I am).

Enjoy!

~Shay

* * *

I didn't have anything to wear. I had nothing to wear and it was driving me insane. It was fucking, Dubai '03 all over again.

I heard the door to the hall to my room open, and I pulled a dress on over my head as a knock sounded on my door.

I pulled the door open and stared down at Macey McHenry who was holding a red embellished folder in her hands.

"Headmistress Morgan gave me extra credit for your class, so I'm turning it in." Macey said, trying to hold on to her bad girl reputation with her body language but I grinned.

"Macey, you have a B in my class," I stated, leaning against the door way, "Much better than half of the girls." I added as an afterthought.

"Well. I want an A."

For a moment, I considered taking her paper and shutting the door tightly, but I remembered how she looked when she first walked into the school, and I remembered my current dilemma.

"Listen Macey, you help me put together a suitable outfit and I'll mark that as extra credit. You have, what, a 87? Two A's will put you over the top."

I saw Macey consider her options before she nodded. I pulled her in and led her to the closet of magic.

"Whoa what is this place?" Macey asked, slightly salivating at the contents.

"It's the closet of magic, off-limits to anyone below junior level- with a few exceptions." I explained, leading her to the ottoman my stacks of clothes were sitting on.

"I'll make you a deal. You grade the one extra credit, and let me take an outfit for myself- and I'll help you with whatever you need. Boy talk, flirting, I'm good for all sorts of things."

I laughed, waving my hand in the air. I couldn't believe Macey would risk her grade for some clothes. She was definitely an ambitious girl, but her need of fashion was nearly crippling.

"Yea. Sure, Macey. Don't touch the silks, satins, or any of the shoes on the top two shelves." I said, still leaving dozens of options for her.

"Deal." She said and she began scavenging through the clothes I pulled out.

"And clean up your mess when you're down. If it's not as pristine as when you got here when you leave, I will kill you." I said and she nodded.

"Isn't there a rule about threatening students?"

"Typical rules only apply to typical people." I quoted my younger sister and Macey smirked a little.

"How about this top?" Macey asked, holding up a black shirt that see-through in the front.

"We aren't going clubbing." I said and she flung the shirt across the room, I barely contained my gasp of horror.

She went through a few more shirts until she picked up a shirt that was slightly pink and beige. I gasped at the sleeveless shirt and gracefully lunged across the room for a pair of leather pants I spotted earlier.

Leather jeans with mesh cut outs was a little too sexy, but the sleeveless top and matching pumps would make it just a little flirty with a professional air.

"Thanks Macey, help yourself, but don't try to cheat me." I said, grabbing up my clothes, not telling her that I had this place wired to hell and back.

I changed into the outfit and did a test walk. I always disliked these shoes; they were comfortable as long as I didn't wear them for more than three hours at a time.

"Clean up after yourself!" I warned Macey, throwing her extra credit onto my couch before I headed out.

I made it to the main hall before I found Rachel sitting on a stair, and I slowed my pace.

"Hey Ray, waiting for hell to freeze over?" I asked while she stood and fell into step beside her.

"I'm headed into town, and I know you'll be drinking tonight, so I figured I'd be your ride." Rachel answered and I stopped walking, narrowing my eyes.

"What do you know that I don't know?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rachel said, tripping over all of her tale signs.

"You know I could drink you under the table." I taunted.

"We are twins. You literally could not." Rachel deadpanned and I snorted.

"Okay, why are you really going out?" I questioned again, getting serious so she knew I wanted to know.

"I'm meeting with a Secret Service agent to vouch that all of my teachers were here and accounted when an informant was killed." Rachel said, giving me major side eye, and I just nodded.

"I told them they didn't have to worry because all of my teachers were inactive desk operatives. Right, Melantha?"

I could have told Rachel everything right then and there. I was secretly active but changed from a spy operative to an assassin operative, I killed that man with only an ounce of regret for any children he had and that Joe was active too. I could have, but I found a million reasons not to as I scanned my brain for any signs that she was acting out of the ordinary.

Her hand was in her purse, positioned in a fist. She never carried a purse and she definitely never constricted her hands. She called me Melantha, she only did that when she was being sentimental or warning me. She told me in-depth what she was going into town for. My eyes drifted back down to her clenched hand.

Of course the secret service wouldn't take her word for it. They had asked her to record everyone, or me, so they could get a confession or innocence.

"Rachel, what do you take me for? I'm too old to go out killing people." I replied, tasting the bitter words like a lemon.

"That's what I'm saying." Ray laughed pulling her hand out of her bag and giving me a knowing nod.

I wanted to stomp my foot and whine like Abby used to (when she was young enough to get away with it). Ray always seemed to know when I had done something, whether she was invited along or not on my expeditions.

I followed her to the car, and the ride wasn't unbearable until we reached city limits.

"Have you heard from Morgan?" Rachel question and I groaned, loudly and for a extended period of time.

"That she-beast bitch?" I spat, foaming immediately.

"Calm down, Melantha."

"Did that nasty disease call for more money?"

"Be a little diplomatic, Melantha. Please." Rachel sighed and I felt my sarcasm go into maximum overdrive.

"Fine- fine you're right... Pray do tell if the concubine hath requested a larger sum of shillings." I asked, trying to control my seething long enough to appear ladylike.

My anger was the hardest thing for me to control, but I did a good job of not kicking strangers in the face. Joe was another story.

Rachel calmed her hysterical laughter long enough to finish talking as we pulled up at old maid.

"She wants Alison to come to Gallagher."

"Morgan does understand that this is a spy school."

"Oh look, you do know her name." Rachel deadpanned, stalling once more and I sighed.

"Rachel, since when is my twin the shadiest person I'm around?" I questioned, and she looked at me from the corner of her eye.

"Word on the street is that she is going to drop Ally off and run." Ray admitted and I nodded.

"Let her. I can take care of Ally. She loves me."

"Melantha, there's more to taking care of a child than what you think."

"Keep her happy, healthy and smart." I listed and Rachel sighed.

"You wouldn't be able to leave her at Gallagher over the summer; she'd have to go with you everywhere you went."

"I'll take care of it, Ray." I assured her, hoping it'd be enough to stop here but I knew my twin better than that.

"You can't abandon her, or only want her around when it's convenient for you. Every birthday, soccer game, bruise, boo-boo. Everything."

"I know how to be a parent, Rachel." I replied, starting to get irritated.

"You don't know Melantha, and I'm trying to teach you."

I gasped when she said this, and she froze- even stopping the car.

"I didn't mean-

"I may not be a mother in your mind, but I read all of the damn help books. Warren and I spent countless nights reading books to my stomach and I had the fucking morning sickness. I wanted to be a mother. I wanted it more than anything." I wasn't yelling, and I think that frightened Rachel more.

"Lanie, I didn't mean it like that." Rachel said, trying to assuage what she assumed was anger, but I shook my head as the shame flooded away- I wasn't angry.

"I'll walk the rest of the way." I told her and got out of the car, it was only a block away.

The walk gave me time to work through my emotions and I chastised myself the whole way. Years later and Mj was still a weakness. I tried to think back to the last time I visited his grave. I hadn't been back since Warren died. A little less than 10 years ago. My heart clenched. Maybe I wasn't a mother... at least, not a good one, I realized as I was walking up on old maids.

I could see Belle sitting on the outside deck on her phone. She was talking in Russian, and I couldn't help but eavesdrop- catching a few angry and violent words.

I noticed my reflection on the wind chimes above her table, and I could have sworn our eyes met but she appeared to be shocked when she turned to put her phone in her purse.

"Clarice!" She said with a smile, standing and giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"You seem surprised that I showed up."

"Oh. No, I just didn't know you were behind me."

I sat down at the table with her and the waiter came up immediately, setting down a bottle of Marcassin Vineyard Pinot Noir and two wine glasses. I nearly choked when he sat it down, that was a 200 dollar bottle.

"You have amazing taste in wine." I complimented as I sipped the bitter sweet liquid.

"I have amazing taste in many things." Belle replied, winking, and I felt my cheeks heat up.

I couldn't remember the last time I blushed from a wink; I was usually the one watching people blush. The thought struck me then- oh god, she could see my blush. I knew now why her smile had gotten bigger.

I tried to fight the choked shyness, but the look in Belle's eyes was absolutely predatory.

"Tell me about this bitch of a day." I managed to say, taking a much needed sip of the cool Pinot Noir.

Belle sighed and rubbed her temples, as if the stress was still there.

"Okay, first, I work at an office and I'm in charge of some little people. I'm essential the Junior CEO. Anyways I was running an exercise for the big people because they decided to randomly show-up. Just my luck, the asshole that's always late for work, decides to show up drunk and duck everything out."

"Surely the big wigs will understand you had no control over that?" I asked, and she took another large sip.

"He's not even one of my people. They'll probably punish me anyways, I was in charge and didn't forsee it.

I walked out today before they could grab me, and they tried to call me twice but I'll procrastinate a little longer." Belle said with a grin and I laughed at her brass, what a curious women.

"Enough about me, tell me about your bitch day." She said, leaning forward, genuinely interested.

 _Oh yes, you know that man that was murdered in woodrun? That was me. I killed a man, almost killed a cop, almost got killed and then drove back in time for tea with you._

"Oh well, you know, seems like nothing in comparison to your day. I just got news that a woman I hate plans to ditch her daughter with me." I revealed, not telling her the amount of sarcasm that was running through my brain.

Belle's eyebrows shot up and she sat back in her chair. Textbook shock.

"Are you going to take care of her?"

"Of course, I love her daughter. It's her I have the grudge against but her little girl is innocent. She didn't choose the she-beast." I explained and Belle nodded, leaning back in her chair.

"That's noble of you." She said, hiding some underlying venom in her voice.

"It's not noble. I'm a teacher, I take care of kids. It's what I do." I said and her eyes softened.

I went off tangent in my mind. Perhaps that's why she like Silence of the Lambs, Clarice tried hard to be a hero, but eventually fell for the temptations of evil that Hannibal Lector offered.

"That doesn't seem like the answer to why you're so tense." Belle pried, being more intuitive than I previously thought.

"I got pulled over on my way to woodrun." I admitted, taking another sip of the alcohol I desperately needed as I glanced over the menu.

"You were in woodrun?"

Her attention was sharp again, his eyes widened as she recalled the events that had transpired roughly 5 hours ago.

"You mean when that guy got killed? Heavens no. The cop told me about the parade and I came back home." I lied through my teeth, but she nodded as if it was plausible.

"My boss was over in woodrun, and he's swearing up and down that the killer was aiming for him." Belle laughed, and I nodded.

The waiter began walking up, but Belle waived him off with her hand. I gave her a questioning look, but she simply stood and held her hand out to me.

"Come with me." She said with a smile that made me want to throw caution to the wind.

So I did, and I stood, giving her my hand.

* * *

A/N: Where are they going, I wonder...


	22. IT'S A TRAP

Hello everyone! Sorry for the author's note. I know I haven't been posting regularly, so you might have thought it was another chapter. Im writing this for both of the stories, so if you're following both- its the same exact post.

I would like to write about another part of Lanie's life before she became a teacher. Before Loving You Killed Me, was about a mission that went wrong as well as (Spoiler alert) Warren's reaction to becoming a father. I want to write another one, but nothing I can think of can be written in 2000+ words.

When I write short stories, I prefer them to be longer than average chapters, so I shoot for anywhere over 2000+ words.

I'm basically asking for any suggestion you guys have that you want to know about Lanie's life. It can be before or after her time being a professor at Gallagher, but Ill probably save the after ones for when I'm truly done writing about her at the school. Thanks!

~Shay


	23. Atalania's return

A/N: HELLO! Sorry I haven't been posting lately, don't have the motivation to write much right now BUT I'M STILL WRITING AND AM GOING TO FINISH THIS FIC. I also have another side story in the works, along the lines of "Before loving you killed me" so it'll be posted there.

A/NN: I'm releasing another fic, about cops (The Legal kind) and the first chapter is going up directly after I post this.

A/NNN: Thanks for the review, Char! I didn't think of Macey/Lanie's relationship like that- but it's an excellent way to describe it. I understand why you feel that way about Belle, she is a bit of a maverick in the story right now. Anyways, thanks for the review and I hope to hear again from you :D

~Enjoy,

Shay

* * *

I had never seen Roseville from such a beautiful angle. Belle took me to an abandoned building that was a block from town square and convinced me to go to the top with her.

"There are so many colors." I whispered and Belle laughed.

"My ex-best friend brought me up here on his first operation. He- well, he found it by accident but I come up here every time I'm in town at night."

"Operation?" I questioned, noting the strange choice of words.

"What? Oh, he's a surgeon. He was really nervous, just graduated." Belle said, soothing my paranoia.

"Why is he your ex best friend? Did something happen that night?"

"He made a move on me and wouldn't except that I didn't think of him like that. He tried to punch me and we haven't talked sense." She admitted quietly and I felt bad for bringing up the old memory.

"I had a friend. He was in love with my best friend but she was dating his brother at the time. She ended up cheating on her boyfriend with his brother.. She got pregnant. She never told anyone who the father was." I said, giving her a little quid pro quo.

"Not even you?" She asked, seemingly surprised but I could tell she wasn't.

"Well, she's my ex best friend."

Belle grabbed the glass of wine she took from the cafe and poured them into the glasses.

When she handed me a glass I asked, "Do they normally let you take their champagne classes?"

She gave me a strange look before she began laugh.

"Definitely not, I stole these." Belle replied, taking a sip of the drink, and I could see her grin from behind the glass.

A normal person would probably start freaking out and demand she take them back, but nothing about my life was normal- so I started laughing at the irony of it.

Belle thought it was something special to steal champagne classes, but my version of something special would be king tuts gold alligator from his tomb.

For that short moment, my brain trailed off on a dizzy fantasy. I could teach Belle to be a spy and we could run off together to steal the alligator. I sighed aloud and looked to Belle as she raised her glass.

"To bad ex-best friends?" She suggested, and I raised my glass to toast it.

"The worst." I replied and we drank the sorrows away.

Come midnight, Belle and I were still on the roof but we were laying on our backs- watching the stars and constellations.

"Is that a sheep?" Belle asked, pointing at to a specific point in the ominous darkness.

"It looks like a cloud." I said, not seeing what she was talking about but unwillingly to tell her that there was no such thing as a sheep constellation.

"It has legs!" Belle exclaimed, swaying her arms around before crossing them back under her head.

"Must be Sirius Black." I snorted and Belle snapped her body around to look at me.

"A Harry Potter reference? A women after my own heart." Belle sighed, flopping back on her back with a slightly smack sounding off.

"What literature haven't you read?" I questioned, leaning toward my favorite topic once more.

"Don't tell anyone but... I hate most of Shakespeare's romances." Belle whispered and I nearly exploded.

"Even Romeo and Juliet?" I questioned and she made a face.

"Especially them. They fall in love with the one person they know they can't have and then blame fate for their bad decisions." She said, and I slightly agreed.

"You're telling me that you've never tasted the forbidden fruit and decided you liked it?"

"Why cause problems pursuing something you know you can't have? Why not just play it safe?"

I looked at her with new eyes and realized she could never fit into my world. Playing it safe wasn't an option for lovers who could only meet on weekends when streetlights where the only witness to the struggle of their new love... when lovers faced death at every corner just to get a kiss that could tide them over until the next meeting- a meeting that might never come again. I didn't say any of this, but I hid my sorrow with the infamous Solomon smile.

"Don't you know that forbidden love is the best love?" I asked

"In my experience, the forbidden should stay forbidden and save everyone the pain." Belle said, showing more pain than she was letting on- and yet she had hit close to home for me also.

Before I could debate it with her, my phone rang and the information popped up on the screen. Call from Twisted Sister.

"Trinity?" Rachel questioned, per usual custom- insinuating she wasn't in trouble even though her tone suggest otherwise.

"What's up Ray?" I asked and Belle rolled over on my stomach to watch me.

"Are you alone?" My sister asked, dodging the question.

"You know I'm with Belle. I told you before I left that we were going out."

"Abby called to warn me that the Secret Service doesn't believe all of my teachers were at Gallagher at the time of the incident in woodrun and have permission to arrest and detain any of you that step off of Gallagher."

"When does this take effect?" I questioned tersely, and Belle scrunched her eyebrows down- trying to listen in on the conversation to gather more details about my distress.

"20 minutes ago." Rachel said and I felt the world freeze as everyone became a suspect and Belle was looking pretty plausible right now.

Without hanging up the phone, I quickly told Belle I had to go and she watched me climb down the fire escape. I didn't have time to pretend that I wasn't graceful or elegant, so I just prayed she would believe that I do Yoga regularly.

"I need help, Ray." I whispered as I ducked between allies, cars and closed stores.

"Abby is patching a network. Do you have a Bluetooth or something hands free?" Ray coached and I smiled, grateful for my earpiece paranoia since Beijing.

I leaned against a bench long enough to extract an earpiece from the bottom of the heel before discarding both shoes all together. I had an unhealthy obsession over matching shoes, but I could always by another pair.

"Is trinity running?" Abby questioned, coming in static at first but crystal clear once it was fixed.

"Do you mean the operation, or Lanie?" Ray countered and Abby snorted with me.

"Well it's both now, so neither matter." I replied, getting back into the groove of the triple threat flow we used to run in the old days.

"Okay, the secret service have you by twenty minutes but you have the element of surprise. They have no idea which teachers are off or on campus." Rachel informed me, and this helped me to relax just a little.

"Just stay in the shadows." Abby said softly, and it freaked me out more than running from the secret service at one in the morning.

I was weaving between the woods and the road on the run back up to Gallagher, ducking into the dense brush when a car passed by. I scrambled across the ground so much that my feet were bleeding, but I didn't let it stop me when I was so close to safety.

What did stop me was the snap of a branch only 13 feet away from me, and I froze like a chameleon. Matt always said, the hardest moment to see is no movement at all, but the person I heard must have been a chameleon too because he was at my back in no time.

"Have a mouse helping you, do you?" He said and I started, he definitely was not SS.

"Who are you?" I questioned, slipping away from his reach as we squared each other up- there was no way I could be him in hand to hand if he was properly trained.

Unfortunately, the way he placed his feet showed me that; not only was he trained, but he was probably some sort of special force. I was trained in special force tactics, and I could keep up with his blows- no problem, but I couldn't realistically see myself taking him down.

"That doesn't matter. You must come with me." He said and I laughed shortly.

"You must be out of your mind."

"Lanie, do not engage. Get out of there." Abby demanded and I rolled my eyes at her too.

"Look man, I'm leaving and if you follow me- I'll hurt you." I clarified but he just smirked slightly.

"Good job, Lane. Now keep running." Rachel applauded.

I nearly started my run when I heard him speak up behind me.

"Mathew Joseph Solomon."

My body seized up on itself when he spoke the words and then immediately went into attack mode. I picked a decent sized stick off the ground and flung it at his head; the bigger they are the harder the fall- and he fell very hard backwards.

"You have five seconds before I stake you." I snarled as I grabbed a particularly sharp stick, and I could feel my sisters' shock.

This was the part of me they had never seen previous to this moment. It was me when I spent five months slaughtering Spanish nobility and garnered the title of Inquisitior. It wasn't a proud time, but it was a desperate one.

"Warren never said you would react that way." He said, and I pushed the sharp part of my weapon into his throat, forcing him to stay down.

"Come with me and I'll tell you everything."

"Lanie, no!" I heard both Abby and Rachel shout in my ear simultaneously.

I took the piece out and smashed it between my fingers, what was an eight hundred dollar piece of equipment anyways (they honestly shouldn't make it so crush-able).

"I'm a bit busy running from some people, so if you don't have a safe house then I'm leaving you here." I warned him and he laughed lightly.

I grabbed his hand to help him stand, and my fingers brushed across the set of rings that adorned his knuckles. I released my grip and shoved the stick as hard as possible into his throat.

I tried to ignore the noises he made as I dialed the number of my recently made friend. It went straight to voicemail.

"Hey Charlotte, it's Atalania. Remember what almost happened in woodrun? You won't believe it, but it just happened here where I'm at right now. I can't stay but I need you to help me and I would owe you one. Have you heard about the secret service agents crawling around? I heard a rumor that they're after someone and are looking for them right now."

I hoped it was enough of a clue to tell her that she needed to be extra careful dealing with this one.

I covered him in leaves and twigs the best I could so that agents might just bypass it, and I continued running up to Gallagher.

My phone was ringing again, and I knew without looking that it was Rachel checking up on me and my bad decisions once more. Maybe they'd forgive me if I got down on my knees and begged. Then again, maybe not, because I had never been the to do the begging.


	24. Et tu, Brute?

A/N: I know it's a day late, I know the formatting is off- I didn't feel like fixing it.

A/NN: I've already started the next chapter, and I promise it will be posted on/before Thursday this time. I'm getting back into the groove of writing (and this chapter is opening up another spin-off for _Before loving you killed me._

A/NNN: Hope you all enjoy, and I hope to hear some thoughts!

Enjoy

~Shay

* * *

Abby was long off the phone with Rachel when I safely made it onto campus.

She thoroughly debriefed me for a couple moments before excepting my half-assed explanation of that man, and then I was allowed to leave her office- but I didn't go to my bedroom. I followed the familiar route to my brother-in-laws room. It was a quiet hallway, but it was exactly the kind of place Joe always liked.

"Joe?" I called out, but he didn't reply, and his room was cold when I walked in.

The bed folded with pristine hospital corners and there was absolutely no trace of him living here except for the duffle bag and backpack in the corner of the room. It almost saddened me to think of how identical our rooms were. It saddened me more that he wasn't there, I hadn't been able to see or talk to him much in the past couple of days.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out to watch the battery warning pop up in front of Belle's message.

 **From contact:** Beauty and the Beast-  
Hey, I hope everything is okay. I'm almost to my house, but I wanted to check on you. It's pretty late, so I hope you got home safe. Message me when you can. Xo, Belle.

I smiled at her sincerity, but my phone died before I could summarize a response for how grateful I was for her understanding.

I scoured around Joe's room, looking for a charger and I hooked my phone up across the room from the bed once I had.

The room was freezing, but his bed was warmer than I expected. Probably a thermos blanket or an experiment from Fibb's lab. It didn't matter either way, I was so exhausted by the time I pulled the blankets over me that instantly fell asleep.

It was still dark when I woke up, and the sheets had lost all of their warmth- despite being insulated with my body heat. I shuffled out of bed, my teeth chattering against each other and made my way to the bathroom.

Except I never made it in, I slipped in something wet and fell backwards onto the floor- bashing my head pretty hard on the way down.

Laying there, I then noticed that the whole floor was wet and sticky, and I blindly looked for the source in the dark room. I came in contact with flesh under the bed and yelped, lunging for my knives until I remembered I was in Joe's room.

I settled for turning on the light and crouched down once more to investigate, but I wasn't prepared for the worse.

Under the bed was the man from last night, a large hole in his neck. The floor was stained with his blood, but his eyes were fixed on me no matter where I moved.

How did someone get in the room to place him under the bed without me knowing? How did they get onto Gallagher? Worst of all, how would ao get him out without a kid or the secret service seeing me?

I heard movement in the closet, and I grabbed the gun I hadn't noticed before and locked onto it.

The door bursts open dramatically before I could say anything, and my ex-best friend stepped out.

"You..." I breathed, almost a heartbroken whimper, I should have known it was her.

"Hello Melanie-"

I hated the godforsaken Gallagher nickname. It took years to shed afterwards, along with the past it carried.

I shot off two bullets into her head before she could change my mind. She was suave, and I had no doubt she could talk me out of killing her, she had talked me into much worse.

Seeing her lay on the floor, dead, was more heart-wrenching than I thought it would be. It had been years since I heard her voice, but I could never forget the betrayal and anger she held in her tone when I went with Buckingham instead of her.

"God. I'm so sorry." I whispered before I tucked the gun in my waistband and left the room to find Rachel or Joe, but not before locking the door behind me.

The halls were completely empty, almost as if a code red had happened while everyone was outside.

I stopped cold in the hallway as the sinking feeling settled in on me. The school was empty, but someone was following me.

I couldn't find any reflective surfaces, so I ignored every instinct in my body, and turned around.

There was a young girl, the sight of her had me rooted to the spot. She looked exactly like her father, and I found myself apologizing again. Twice in one night was a record for me.

"You killed him." She said, as she pulled a gun from behind her back, and my only concern was were she had gotten it from.

"I knew you'd come for me one day." I replied, sinking onto my knees to be level with her.

Before she could shoot me, I found myself looking up at Joe Solomon. I nearly kicked him in the face, only stopped by the fact that my legs were corralled in the sheets.

"Lanie, are you okay?" He asked, smelling slightly of something burnt, but I knew I wouldn't be able to reply without crying or screaming.

I reached my arms up for him, and he lifted me like I weighed nothing. Then he unwrapped the blankets with minimal help from me as I stared at his closet.

"Warren?" He asked and I shook my head, for once it wasn't about my husband.

Joe didn't know the story of Cat, and it wasn't the night to tell him- not judging by his smell and agitated hands.

"What's wrong, Joseph?" I questioned, less worried about my demons in the closet (literally), and more worried about the fear in his eyes.

"Melantha... Gabriel Eaton was in a car accident." Joe whispered.

No wonder he was so distraught, Gabriel was as much Joe's friend as he was mine.

"Why didn't Jane call me?" I asked, avoiding the real question and Joe looked at me.

"She's busy helping Gabe right now... He lost a leg in the accident, and it might end his career." Joe said hesitant and I gasped in shock.

"Oh god, that's horrible. He's okay though right?" I asked and once Joe nodded, I continued, "Good. Now what aren't you telling me?"

"Kile Townsend was in the car with him." Joe whispered and dread filled me immediately to my bone.

"When's the funeral?" I asked, trying to remain impersonal, but Joe's face broke me very quickly.

"Next Sunday."

I had only seen Joe cry a total of eight times that I could count. Most of them happy tears, a few sad.

I had seen him cry before, and so I knew he was on the verge of tears again. Kile was the last thing he had to a brother, and now even he was gone.

"Does Rachel know?"

"No. I thought you might want to tell her." Joe said, and I knew that he wanted to be there to comfort her when it all went down.

"Come with me, she'd want to know immediately."

The news hadn't quite sunk in when we got to my sister's room, but that was good because I couldn't handle an emotional Rachel and an emotional Joe if I was an emotional wreck myself.

She was easy to wake up, sitting up in bed the moment one stepped through the threshold. She knew something was wrong immediately and I cursed myself.

This was how she found out about Matt. A call in the middle of the night, and it was left at that, her next call was to me.

"Who died?" She asked

"Kile. Kile Townsend." Joe replied, his face as sturdy as a rock, he was going to cry today.

"When's the funeral?"

"Next weekend, after notifications are sent out. The location isn't going to be revealed until the day before because of how many high target agents will be there." Joe answered, and Rachel nodded.

"We're all dying so fast." Rachel whispered and I got down on my knees beside her bed.

She was right. This was the fifth funeral she had attended this year for a close colleague, or Gallagher peer. I hadn't been here for her, but I kept taps on her in the shadows.

We both stayed for a couple moments watching Rachel for a reaction, but she silently crawled back under the bed.

"It's 3 am. I'll deal with it in the morning."

Then she held the sheet up, waiting for someone to join her, and Joe was out of the room before I could make the decision. Rachel cared for him, but she needed her twin right now.

Ray faced me as she fell into a fitful sleep, and I hugged her close- to frightened to rejoin the dream world.

Cat, muscle man, Aria Adler, near suicide. It panicked me more than the usual nightmare did. Maybe it's because the usual nightmare was the monster I knew, and my latest dream was the monster I had become.

I felt Ray shake as she feigned sleep, but I didn't say anything to her, didn't comfort her, I just held her. If she thought I was asleep, it would give her some peace. Rachel didn't cry often.

* * *

A/N: Whoops, my hands slipped o.o


	25. Cold War

A/N: SOOOOOO. Here we are again! I'm posting this today, I'll post one on Tuesday and maybe Thursday (or Friday) because I have exams on Wednesday and Thursday.

A/NN: First off, Char! I liked Kile too. I didn't realize exactly how much until he died. I love writing her dreams because her past and future are such mysteries that the dreams really add to development. I'm glad you liked it and can't wait to here from you again. I hope revisions/tests are going well for you!

A/NNN: I hope everyone likes where I'm going so far (it'll change up soon) and I appreciate all reviews whether they be good, bad, or constructive criticism.

Enjoy!

~ Shay

* * *

Classes went on as usual, except for that mild explosion in drivers ed. that I promised to check out (but explosions weren't really uncommon in a spies line of work).

When Belle called, I gave her the brief cover story about Kile getting into a car accident- and she was more supportive than I expected anyone to be, and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner to talk about it, but I could barely maintain looking any of my students in the eyes with the lies I was holding, let alone her.

I was so far into my own guilt that I assigned yet another essay so I wouldn't have to hear them speak to me with the kiddish voices and round faces.

In ten years from now, how many of their funerals will I have attended? Who is going to die first? Who will take their own life as a result of a bad mission? Who is going to remain alive long enough to see death coming for them?

"Mrs. Solomon?" Macey questioned, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I pretend to finish grading a paper before I stood.

I checked over her shoulder, to quickly read her work. It was mildly impressive, but I kept my face impassive up until the point I seen a reference to the "closet of Magic."

I lightly laughed, and I could see Macey trying to control a grin as the rest of the class turned to her.

"Nice to see something new for a change." I said and Macey nodded as I brought to her essay to the front.

"I wanted to ask a question." Macey said, and I feigned surprise- I knew the question.

"Does it pertain to the lesson?" I asked her, pinning her against a rock and a hard place.

This lesson was about different techniques of flirting.

"Where did the cuts on your hand come from?"

From the stick I impaled on a man.

"That has nothing to do with the Marilyn Method." I chastised, not worried about the girls ganging up on me since Macey was in no way the weakest link of the group.

"It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission."

I looked up from my desk, into the faces of girls who had never heard a teacher be talked back to before, and meet the eyes of Macey McHenry. I wanted to take points from her grade for something, anything, but her gaze never wavered. I pretend not to care about it, and even cocked my head for good measure, then shrugged.

"Must have happened when I was working on my car yesterday." I said, lightly running my left hand of the palm of my right.

I waited for the girl to make another comment, but she didn't, and instead busied herself with work for another class.

Some of the other girls hadn't taken the hint yet, and were still waiting for the conversation to continue.

"What are you waiting for? Thanks to McHenry's stunt, I want this essay in the next five minutes- and then we'll be headed outside."

I heard Elizabeth squeak, her pencil splintering slightly as she squeezed it in frustration but the rest of them knew better than to show any signs of displeasure until I was out of ear shot.

I didn't care about any of that; I was busy trying to figure out what the hell I was going to have them do outside.

It took me a second, but I shot a text off to my brother-in-law.

 **To contact** : Red

Hey, I need you to get your class and meet me outside in twenty. I'm improving. Thanks, xo

The last girl to hand in her paper was Elizabeth; one glance told me she wasn't finished. She was two pages short of her average essay- I practically had to pry it out of her white knuckled hand.

"Go." I commanded my class, planning on changing my shoes, but my phone vibrated and changed the whole circumstance.

 **From contact** : Red  
How about a better idea? Cold War.

I shouted for the girls to come back in the room, and mere seconds later, my phone vibrated again.

 **From contact** : Mr: Kaplan  
Cold War, dear.

I couldn't contain my grin, this game was about to get interesting- and I couldn't help but wonder who had organized it. I turned to the girls and my phone went off again.

 **From contact:** Madea  
Cold War, may the best woman win.

"Change of plans! Have any of you ladies heard of a war game?" I asked, and all of the girls raised their hands.

"Good, now imagine this. The biggest CIA branch plunged into darkness with nothing to do but wait. What are CIA agents bad at doing?"

"Doing nothing." Kimmy Lee answered and I made a mental note to give her a point on her grade for speaking up.

"Exactly! Doing nothing!" I was getting more hyped with each word, and I could tell that it was starting to freak the girls out.

"Okay, now imagine this. Five close friends are stuck in this place full of gadgets," -my phone vibrated again,-"and four of them are fresh off of a mission."

I gave them time to consider as I checked my phone with a glance.

 **From contact** : the mistress  
Cold War… (What the hell?)

"Okay, how would you like to play a war game invented by spies- for spies?" I asked, and the room grew deathly silent with anticipation.

The, I assumed, very last text came in from my twin.

 **From contact** : Twisted Sister  
Cold War in the P&E building.

"This game is called Cold War, and so far- Mr. Solomon, Professor Buckingham, Ms. Hancock, Madame Dabney and Headmistress Morgan have all agreed to play. The game will start once everyone is in the P&E to hear the rules. Questions, now."

The girls seemed stunned into silence for a just a moment before their senses came back to them. They had 3 minutes to ask.

"How do we play?" Bex asked, leaning forward and I grinned- we were going to have so much fun.

"I have no, _reasonable_ , idea. Typically it's played in a very large area with a small number of people."

"What do we do?"

"Essentially, it's the biggest fight you've ever gotten into in your life. You form a box at an equal distance and when the whistle goes off- you run to the other side, trying to take out at many people as possible. There are more Bells and Whistles that Rachel will explain to you."

"If it's an epic fight, why is it called Cold War?" Kim questioned and I grinned, more questions were coming with their never ending anticipation.

"Because you play in total darkness. You can't see, they can't see, it's the epitome of trusting your gut and instinct."

After I finished explaining that to them, I held my hand out to stop the beginning of the flow of questions, and placed my heels on the desk after slipping them from my feet.

"Meet me in the main hall in two minutes, or you're disqualified." I said, and began sprinting.

I was already up the first flight of stairs by the time the time the last girl was out of the room, but I didn't stop back to watch them when I was determined to be there before them.

Rebecca was hot on my tails, and it was obvious that everyone in the Gym was waiting on my class only, but at least my class had been debriefed.

I met Joe halfway across the overly sized Gym, and he gave me a grin before hugging me.

"We're going to kick your asses." I said, motioning to my girls as Dabney and Hancock walked up behind us.

"Not against my seniors." Dabney countered and I did a quick measure up of the students.

There was only one group of 8th graders, one of the sophomores, two of the juniors, and one of the seniors.

"We need to make it clear that the upperclassmen need to go easy on the middle 8th grade kids." Hancock declared, protecting her students to the best of her ability and Rachel nodded as she joined the congregation of teachers with Buckingham at her side.

"That will be explained in the rules, but first everyone needs to pair their classes up." Rachel said and I knew I had an odd number of girls- but I whipped around to count them anyways.

We all split up to supervise our kids, and I began pairing them immediately by skill, leaving one particular student out on purpose as numbers began to dwindle- and I finally turned to her.

"Elizabeth, you're with me."


	26. 1991

A/N: SORRY I'M A TERRIBLE AUTHOR BUT I'VE ALREADY WRITTEN MOST OF THE NEXT CHAPTER, SO IT SHOULD BE UPDATED EITHER TUESDAY OR THURSDAY, THANK YOU FOR NOT HATING ME!

A/NN: Music, I'm glad you liked the chapter (I assume you like it because you were excited for the game /.\\) and I hope it lives up to your expectations! Char, I'm starting to really like writing Lanie/Macey interactions, and it's your fault, so thank you. Your reviews are the longest I get, so never worry about them being short because atleast you're giving me your opinions! :)

A/NNN: Anyways! Onto the chapter!

Enjoy!

~Shay

* * *

After explaining for the third time that we were basically playing a violent Red Rover, Rachel began going over the rules.

"Remember, your goal isn't to incapacitate anyone- it's to keep them from reaching the other side before the light is on. Trip them, sacrifice yourself, distract them, but you are fighting with inexperienced children- so do no hurt them.

The 8th graders bristled at being called children, but knew better than to comment (even after only a year with my sister).

Everyone formed into a modified box. Positions were taken up from all sides of the gym, so there were large gaps in between each section of students and Ray stood elegantly in the middle.

"I forgot to mention, you and your partner must both make it across the line in order to stay in the game. If one person doesn't make it, you're disqualified."

I turned to face Liz, who had suddenly shrunk beneath my gaze in fear.

"Oh silly me, one more thing. Any students that win will receive 100 test points in every class that these teachers instruct."

I hadn't taken my eyes off of Liz yet when Ray said this, and I watched with astonishment the small blonde transform. She stood straight up, and looked ready to wrangle an alligator with her petite muscles. The things this girl would do for an A.

"You run, I'll take people down." I said and she nodded, positioning herself to have maximum velocity.

I laughed lightly at the intense look on her face, she was ready to take on the world for a 100%, and I slightly admired her for it but it also concerned me. If she only believed in herself when a grade was on the line, how could she possible hope to survive in the field?

As everyone lined up with their partner, the lights shut off with absolutely no warning (despite the fact that Rachel had inconspicuously steppe out of the line of fire) and I shoved Liz in front of me by the collar of her shirt.

She didn't need much help, after my hand left her- I could practically hear her tiny elbows digging into someone's side.

I didn't stick around to take anyone out this round, although a few skirmishes were going on to the left of me and the lights came on mere moments after I stepped into safety.

One minute between lights, and a quarter of the girls had been disqualified for various reasons, but at least no one was bleeding yet.

It was different the second time- before the round even started, I could feel the shift in the atmosphere. The reason this game was played with lights on and off, was so that you couldn't adjust to the darkness when trying to fight- but the loophole was to keep your eyes closed.

When I leaned over to tell Liz this, I found her eyes already closed and I was beginning to think I had underestimated her. Maybe she wouldn't do go in the field, but a field agent wasn't the only position available to a genius.

The lights went off again, and I was able to see much better this time. Liz stayed close to me instead of pushing her way in because, instead of scrambling, the room was near silent with tactics but it all burst at once.

A loud noise distracted everyone just long enough for a senior girl to dive onto a mass group of eight graders and trap them beneath her. Although a few managed to squeeze out, it set the chain of reaction into place.

I told Liz to run just as I felt arms grip me. I didn't kick immediately in fear that it would be a kick to Patricia, but once logic dictated that it was Dabney, I let loose.

It was almost too easy to take her down. We were both in the CIA, but in completely opposite divisions, which led to my greater knowledge of maneuvers.

I didn't hurt her, but once she was on the ground, I bolted for the side Liz had taken up Haven on. I blindly stepped over the line, hoping that I had chosen the right petite blonde to follow.

When the lights came on again, I left my eyes open only long enough to get a glimpse of who was in.

The senior girl had sacrificed herself to take out 4 eighth graders (and whoever they teamed with), and her partner had managed to take out a pair of my students. Dabney had made it to safety, but she was grinning like a mad woman and I anxiously realized that I didn't know who her partner was.

12 more kids were out, and the lights went off after they cleared the combat zone.

I was slightly blinded, but I gained the sight back quickly- in time to be violently thrown into the floor.

I couldn't tell who it was over the pain in my shoulder, but I was even more determined than ever to win after I was blindsided. We went into a struggle for dominance that I won after delivering a swift kick in the gut. I used my body to keep them down before the mental timer went off in my head- 10 seconds before lights on. I waited until the last possible second until flinging myself off of them and hurling over the taped line.

The lights came on, revealing that roughly another dozen was eliminated as well as Hancock and her partner (Buckingham). I was surprised that she was the one to bulldoze me over, especially since she wasn't Dabney's partner.

Instead of turning the lights back on, Rachel stepped back into the field.

"Since there are only five minutes left off class and all of the 8th graders have been eliminated, it's time for sudden death. One person from all of the remaining teams, enter the middle."

Liz immediately pushed me over the line, knowing she stood no chance against the other opponents. Especially since Solomon and Dabney were among the group of remaining fighters (and I figured out that they each had paired with a student instead of each other like I feared).

When Rachel gave us the green light, the tight didn't last long. The teachers teamed up on the students and took them down in groups- (hitting the ground being the disqualifier)- the seniors being the last to go down.

I immediately trusted Joe to help me, but he turned on me- opting to help Dabney since she would be an easier target to take down in the end.

"Just like a Solomon to turn on a Solomon." I taunted as he tried to make me take my eyes off of Dabney.

"Just like good times right? Remind you of anything?" He laughed, and I turned quickly to check Dabney's position before turning back to him.

"Only a little thing called, District of Columbia." I said back, throwing him off.

"You know about that?" He asked, stopping his defensive position long enough for me to make a move.

It took a bit of effort that I hadn't used in a while, but I managed to (albeit sloppily) grab his shoulder and rotate myself so that I was on his back. He was able to stay balanced until I kicked him in the back of his knee.

"Bad move, Lanie." He grunted, gripping my legs with his strong hands, and he almost kept his balance again until Dabney pounced on the opportunity and knocked us both to the floor just as the bell rang.

"Congratulations Madame Dabney and Maria Fernandez!" Rachel yelled out over the loud students as Joe and I laughed.

"Nice use of a distractions, brat." Joe said, trying to stand up as I clung to his back still.

"Always, ass." I replied, smiling to Rachel who helped Joe stand.

"Back to the school, quickly, Joe's next class is starting." Rachel commanded with laughter, and Joe turned his head to look at me.

"You ready, Lane?" He questioned me, and I clung to him even harder.

"Ready, noble steed!" I shouted and he began running toward the school.

It was a great day, and it almost made up for the reason I had a freshly pressed black suit hanging up in my room.

* * *

P.S. Next Chapter is going to introduce a new character who is going to get a chapter in the spin-off (Before loving You killed me- it's a series of one shots about Lanie's life). That chapter is going to be co-written by one of my greatest friends! Thanks for reading!


	27. A thing called Pain and Past

A/N:I'm sick, so long story short- Thanks, Music and thanks Char.

Enjoy

~Shay

* * *

Kile would have absolutely hated his funeral. He was all about the fanfare and trivial business, and always said he wanted a huge funeral with sobbing friends in every corner.

Very few people were crying in the room were only standing room remained.

Kile's normal friends and family filled the pews, and they cried together. One women in particular was leaning into Kile's mother for support. His girlfriend. Rene Walker, she was his first serious relationship in years and he would have proposed eventually. The best part was the she was normal. Normal, beautiful and kind.

As if sensing my movement; Joe, Rachel and I broke rank from the wall at the same time.

She noticed us first, and I noticed she was wearing the same black mourning band she had wore when her husband died.

"I'm sorry for you loss, mama." Joe said first, swooping down to kiss the fragile looking women.

"Thank you, Joepsh," mama said and turned to Rachel next- avoiding me completely, "and Rachel, thank you for coming. It's been so long since I've seen any of you."

After mama hugged Rachel, she turned to me with scornful eyes.

"Hello, mama Townsend." I said, not looking her in the eyes like she wanted me to.

Olivia Townsend was mama to everyone that met her long enough to catch a name. It took me years to find out her name was Olivia, even with spy tools at my finger tips.

"I'm suprised you came, Melanie." I hid the cringe that came with the name.

She was also one of the few that still called me that. Kile introduced me to his mother as Melanie instead of Melantha because Warren called me Melantha- and Kile wanted his own nickname.

"I'm sorry for your loss." I said, and mama nodded.

"Thank you all for coming. Hopefully when I see you again, it will be a happier day."

After a brief hug with mama, my eyes fell back onto his girlfriend and a certain motion she had been repeating. I sighed sadly, and mama followed my gaze.

"She loved him a lot." Mama said, misinterpreting, but Ray and Joe knew what I had seen.

"Everyone loved him, but she was good for him." I said, and mama gave me the look.

"You would have been good for him."

Joe shifted uncomfortably beside me, and Rachel pulled her face into a neutral mask.

"I was married."

"Now you're a widow- all of you young kids die so fast. Don't think I haven't noticed something fishy going on. I only know Kile worked for the police, but I don't see one person in uniform here. I'm not stupid, youngins," mama took a breath as I froze, "I know whatever killed Warren, Mathew and so many others is most likely the same reason my son is dead."

Mama wasn't looking for answers today, she turned and strolled back to the young girl who was most definitely pregnant without mama's knowledge.

"That was concerning." Rachel said, prompting Joe and I to both nod in agreement, but the mention of Matt had her more hurt than she was letting on.

The three of us retreated back to our places among the wall of other agents dressed in black.

Kile wasn't as religious as he or mama wanted him to be, but the Priest did an excellent job of making him a saint.

"A brave man, who died to young in the saddest way- unfinished. He left so much unfinished buiness behind, that the world never got to pay him back for his deeds." I cast my eyes away from the priest as he said this.

Kile was an assassin, and the world was paying him in full right now. Kile was humane and picky with his kills, which is why his streak never mirrored mine.

If this was what the world had in store from him, what was my Karma?

As the sermon progressed, I knew my karma, and it was in the form of a beautiful women whom knew no bounds (or even headed them).

Gail was standing in the staircase to my left, coming in half way through the service with a heard of security around her- as if she was the most important person here.

It was smart that she brought security though. Anyone here that knew her history with Kile- would down her in a second, including me.

She caught me staring (she probably found me the moment she walked in) and had the audacity to wink.

I was shocked that she took a day off if potential work to waltz into Kile's funeral as if it were a party for her instead, but I couldn't help trying to decipher that wink. Was she disappointed that I was part of the mournful crowd of onlookers?

When Gail mentored us, she constantly pitted us against each other for her amusement and we fell prey to her tactics. As children, we stopped short of killing the other (but sabatoge happened a great deal) in order to gain her affection, if for only a short time. Somewhere along that road, Kile and I had become friends and our fight in Vying for Gail's pleasure turned into a friendly we left her, together, she said that were her biggest dissapointments with the most potential. I hadn't see her since then and I had never cared to see her again, but here she was at Kile's funeral- taunting me once more.

At least she had enough sense to wear black. With her level of arrogance, she was just as likely to show up in any variation of a rainbow.

It wasn't until the congregation was filling out (over two hours later) that I managed to split away from my siblings to find the uninvited woman- and it didn't take long.

She was taking shelter in the back of the church, a roped off section and I was met with security once I opened the, previously locked, door. The guard either was terrible at his job, or had been informed that I was allowed to pass.

"My beautiful flower, I see you've only grown more poisonous with age."

I waited, any comment she made was a backhand.

"Anyone else you love die lately? It's a shame I couldn't make it to Wayn's funeral."

"Don't worry, Gail. You weren't missed at _Warren's_ funeral, not that I recall inviting you."

I never would have spoken back to Gail in my youth, to afraid of the repercussions, but now she appeared only as a lonely woman intent on living in the past and I hadn't been truly afraid of anyone in years.

"Nevertheless, I didn't come here to bicker with you, nor did I come for Kile." Gail revealed and I sneered.

When under Gail's command, she would entrap us in the most inconvenient locations in order to assign us a task, and I had it to my heels with her arrogance.

"You want to come in here, in a place where you will never be welcomed in your life, and dishonor Kile," Gail started to interrupt me but I spoke over her, "and dishonor Kile, and still think that I'd do business with you!"

I had to calm myself from the internal explosion going on.

"I will never do business with you again. Not after what you did to us." I thought I made myself clear, but she waved me off with her condescending ways.

"That was simply business."

Gail's carelessness set off a fire in my bones, and I was suddenly angry at the lack of throwable items.

"That was a sellout, you poisonous bitch." I snapped.

My choice of words didn't have their desired effect. She used to be irked by fowl languages, and those restrictions often found their way into my life still. I cursed to remind myself that there were no hidden consequences.

"I recall a time when that mouth of yours was better for more than speaking those putrid words."

Gail's words embarrassed me slightly, but I felt better to know that I had gotten under her skin more than she let on.

"It was around the same time you were more than an assassin for hire. What was the last job? The one where you lost your latest conquest."

I knew it was a low blow, especially when Gail's face flushed red, but I was out for blood.

"And yet, Gabriella was never as good as you were." Gail fired back, trying to show that Gabriella's death was just one more that she rolled off of her back.

"That's what I'm getting at, Gail. You can keep looking, keep searching and poaching girls and boys that you can groom, but you'll never be satisfied with them. Even now, you come crawling back to me," I stepped closer to Gail as I continued, "and I want you to remember me when you wake up. Remember that I was your favorite, I was your protégé, and I left you for Warren. I'm leaving, and you can shove this offer, and every other, up your ass. I'm done with you."

I turned and left, not bothering to let her counter me. I had mixed emotions about seeing her. God did I want to kill her, but I also missed the times we had together 20 years ago.

I wasn't necessarily looking for Joe and Rachel, but they seemed to find me with no problems once I stepped back into the open portion of the church.

"They're transporting the body to the graveyard. We need to go." Rachel said, no humor in her voice as we headed for the car.

We had plenty of time to catch up, the line of cars following the hearse to the site was insane, but the tense silence was worse.

"Did something happen?" I finally asked, unable to piece together what could have gone down in the ten minutes I was gone.

"Why were you meeting with a crime syndicate at the church?" Ray asked, not beating around the bush like I sensed Joe wanted to.

"She approached me with business." I replied, honestly but she squinted at me threw the review mirror.

"I thought you were retired." Ray pushed and I sighed, I hated lying to my twin.

"I told her to shove it where the sun doesn't shine."

"Good. I don't know if you've dealt with her before, but Gail Rainer isn't a woman to deal with." Joe said, trying to be helpful but I looked out the window instead of replying.

It was too sunny. No spy I had ever known was buried on a sunny day, but it was so like Kile to be the exception.

The rest of his funeral went off without a hitch, and Gail didn't bother to show up now that she had thoroughly bothered me. I hated her for it, because now I was thinking about her rather than Kile- who deserved to have everyone think only of him.

My phone rang as we approached the graveyard, and everyone entered slowly.

"Hello?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral since it was an unknown number.

"Hey... I know we haven't talked in like, forever, but now I'm here and we're talking."

"Victoria?" I gasped, drawing the attention of Joe and Rachel, but I waved their attention away.

"I know you're in the car with people, so I'll talk- you be vague." She said, and I laid my head against the window.

"Are you out of the contract yet?" I questioned instead of replying to her.

After I left Gail's side, I expected Victoria to follow me, but Gail locked her in a contract that would end with Victorias head if anyone tried to stage a coup to get her out.

"No, that's why I'm calling. Gail has promised to release me as long as you give her something in return."

I wanted to smash a window, of course Gail would entrap me by using my apprentice.

"Of course. I'll call you later and we can schedule a meeting. I'm preoccupied but I'll call you back as soon as I'm free." I assured her, and we both said our goodbyes.

A few years before Ieft, I drafted a young girl from Gallagher to be my apprentice, my junior assassin. Being connected through me, meant being connected through Gail. Which is why, 10 years later, Victoria was still in Gail's grips.

"Who was that?" My sister asked, totally curious and completely. oblivious.

"An old friend from my deep cover times," not a lie, "and they need my advice on something, so i may need to fly out of town at some point." Also not a lie.

"I'll manage your classes if you leave a lesson plan."

Thanks, Ray. You're the best." I said, formatting the possible reasons Gail would be desperate enough to twist Victoria's arm.


	28. Preconceived notion of help

A/N: Hello again! Thank you Char and Music for the reviews last week. I wanted to say thank you and write out an elaborate thing, but I posted during a rare moment of not feeling terrible. I didn't know how long it would last, so I just decided to post and fall back asleep before it could help.

A/NN: OKAY! On to the story. I'm working on the one-shot for " _Before loving you killed me_ " so, keep an eye out for it I guess!

Enjoy

~Shay

* * *

Once I was alone in my room, I called Victoria back- stripping the suit as I did so.

"Lanie! You called sooner than I expected." Victoria exclaimed, sounding every-bit of the 26 year old she was.

"I assume Gail is there, hand the phone to her." I said, preferring to get straight to business rather than let Victoria's eccentric personality reign.

"Hello, Melantha. I assume you're willing to do business now."

Gail nonchalant arrogance had me curling my fist around the sweat pants I was trying to put on in order to maintain my indifference.

"Just get to the point. What do you want in return for Victoria's freedom?" I asked her, not giving Gail the opportunity to dig into me.

"I want you." She said simply, and I sighed.

"That much is obvious." I snapped, losing my cool long enough to please her.

"A year of servitude from you, in return for Victoria's freedom." She clarified and I groaned internally but it was at-least better than I thought it would be.

"How many years does she have left?" I asked, as if it made a difference to my decision.

"5 years, but it will be more at the rate she is going." Gail replied, sounding a bit more elated than I would like her to be, and it irritated me immensely.

"Entrapping her in hard cases, are you?" I questioned Gail, but she wasn't having it.

Gail's currency was a renewed contract at the end of a ten year period, but she usually kept her people for longer by giving them hard cases. For every failed case, a year was added to the contract before it could he renewed or cancelled.

"Just give me an answer." She snapped, getting impatient with my stalling.

"I'll do it on 2 conditions. I get to meet with Victoria before I start, and I get to negotiate my contract."

I held my breath after making my demands. They were both a long shot because she had kept her people on a short leash since Kile and I had started a mutiny with our leaving.

She was silent for a long time, and I began to worry that Victoria would get in trouble because of me.

"That can be arranged. Shall we meet at that lovely hotel?"

"No. I'll come to you. When I get there, I want an audience with Victoria, alone, immediately and then I'll meet with you." I said, and hung up before she could attempt to sway me.

I stood in that spot for a moment with just my sweats and bra on, deciding if I should go for a run that would kill me or stand under arctic level waters for an hour.

Running won out, and I was pounding dirt only thirty minutes later. Typically, I enjoyed to run in silence so that I could hear someone come up behind me, but I found a craving for music. So I pulled out yet another guilty pleasure from my bag to use, one I hadn't touched since I arrived at the school.

With the music blasting in my ears, I let the running clear my mind, but it was more like an Olympic race with the uneven hold on the ground.

When I ran out of breath sooner than I should have, I made a mental note to get myself weighed- wondering if I was becoming unfit or if I simply underestimated the terrain. I jogged slowly in-place as I caught my breath, observing the animal life in the dense brush.

I was about to turn and run back but I remembered the promise I made to Rachel and Patricia, and began jogging in the general direction of the explosion.

I remembered the exact coordinates Patricia had given me, but finding them without a GPS required a great deal of math that I didn't really want to do- so I started guessing.

Once I made it into the neighborhood (the only one in this godforsaken town), I slowly began jogging- looking for any obvious clues. It only took a moment to find a piece of the rubber tire near the curb, indicating that the neighborhood wasn't as well kept as everyone suggested, and I knocked on the closest door.

"Just a minute!" Someone yelled through the door, an older man and I immediately changed tactics.

When he answered, I took a quick inventory. Tall, muscled and black. I was taken my surprise for a moment, since this neighborhood was prominently white, but it was a good surprise.

"Hi, my name is Sam! I am so sorry to bother you but I was running and rolled my ankle- I was wondering if you had a phone I could use to call my sister?" I asked, batting my eyelashes a little to hard.

"Oh here, I'm a doctor, let me help you in. I'll grab you some ice and get you a phone."

By "helping me," he meant carrying me inside of the house and to a couch. As he shuffled around in the kitchen, I looked at pictures on the wall. There were numerous pictures of a white family, two adults and two kids- but no pictures of him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?" I called into the kitchen and he didn't answer until he came back into the living room with frozen peas.

"Samuel Abrams, I'm in town with my brother to see my niece and nephew."

The name trigger a fuzzy memory, and I played with it in the back of my mind while I continued to talk to him.

"Thank you for inviting me in, most people wouldn't do that." I said gratefully, truly surprised that he had allowed me in- I just expected a quick glimpse of the interior home.

"Who am I to turn away a beautiful woman?" He asked, flashing me a charming smile and I began flirting back.

"So you helped me because I'm pretty?" I asked and he laughed with me.

"I helped because it's my instinct, you being beautiful was just a bonus." He stated, kneeling in front of me so that he could wrap the cool pack against my ankle.

My smile was genuine this time, even though my sprained ankle wasn't.

"Abrams. Like Abrams and son." I said as the thought came back to me, finally remembering the sign I had seen weeks ago.

"Seems like a PhD runs in my family, right?" He joked and I laughed again- _if only he knew_.

The way he said it led me to believe that he was trying to score brownie points with me, but simply making conversation.

"Pharmacist. Neurosurgeon. I think all you're missing is a dentist." I countered, and the look he gave me told me everything.

"You cannot be serious, you have the whole package." I laughed, not realizing how it sounded until he grinned at me.

"I didn't tell you I was a neurosurgeon." He said instead of commenting on the unintentional innuendo.

I went through my mind quickly, and came to the conclusion that he definitely hadn't said anything beyond doctor.

"It's your hands," I answered without thinking, but I ran with it, "they're really steady."

"I've been told I'm good with my hands." He replied, smiling again with his perfectly white teeth.

Before I could make a comeback, he stood and grabbed a phone from the coffee table.

"I'll give you some privacy." He said, and swiftly walked into another room (the bathroom, I assumed from the rest of the layout) and shut the door.

I dialed my own number and let it ring to voice mail, even leaving a message in-case Samuel was listening.

I quickly wiped my finger prints from the phone and took my own out to snap pictures.

Samuel was coming out of the room as I was sitting back down .

"Did you get a hold of your sister?" He asked, seemingly oblivious to the fake conversation he eavesdropped on, I knew he was listening the moment I seen his face.

"No, but my ankle doesn't hurt anymore. I think I just needed to sit down for a while." I answered as honestly as I could for a complete lie.

"I would offer to drive you home but Jacob, my brother, said that they're about to pull into the driveway."

I looked out of the window to spot an SUV driving into the open lot as Samuel informed me.

"I wouldn't want to impose on your hospitality any longer. Have a good vacation, Samuel."

"It was a pleasure, Sam." He said kindly, and followed me out onto the lawn.

I didn't stay to introduce myself, opting instead to smile and keep walking as the children laughed together.

"Mom the dog is in the trashcan again!" The son exclaimed as their dog bounded out of the van and unto the curb, but his voice had me stopping dead.

See, you don't even have to answer that, because I know all the trash cans in town, and while this is a very nice trash can, it doesn't look like the kind of trash can a girl like you would normally scavenge from. Now, the trash cans on Seventh Street, those are some very nice trash cans.

I wanted to find out more immediately, but I had over-stayed my welcome once the woman began asking Samuel about me. Before I could be roped in by the suburban mom, I took of jogging down the street again.

He had seen Cammie, and then the drivers ed car breaks down almost directly in front of his house, containing Cammie's group... Either it was a terrible coincidence, or the girls were doing some recon- and I didn't believe in coincidences.

My legs ached by the time I made it back into Gallagher, and it was nearly nightfall but I sent a freshman girl to locate Macey anyways. I was pleasantly surprised to discover she had taken refugee in the library, presumably to study for her COW exam.

There was a, not-so-short shortcut to the library from the hallway, and I took it with the sole purpose of discretion. I had never taken this path before, usually opting to just walk public route as a Gallagher girl, but it took me to the back of the library, and right to where Macey was studying.

In my knowledge, there was no way to come behind a unknowing person and not scare them, so I came right out with it instead of stalling.

"Hello, Macey."

She started and immediately slammed her chemistry notes shut and scrambled for her magazine. That's interesting.

"Why are you hiding?" I asked her, even though I knew perfectly well.

She never tried for anything in her whole life and survived on getting by with the luck of her parents. Now that she was trying, she didn't want to fail or it would dictate that something was wrong with her. I mildly wondered how long she would keep up her charade.

"I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea." Macey said passively, but she was angrier at being caught than she would admit.

"The wrong idea being that you want good grades?" I deadpanned, and Macey shifted uncomfortably, which wasn't good when I was trying to win her favor.

I took a seat beside her and reached for her notes, shifting through them. They were very good and detailed, much more so than I had expected. She played the uncaring heiress well, and she knew it too.

"What do you want, Ms. Solomon?" Macey asked, nicer than I probably deserved but I didn't show it in my face.

"I have a proposition for you, Macey." I replied simply, and her eyebrows shifted, showing her interest even though the rest of her gave no indication.

"I'll do it on two conditions." She said immediately, not waiting to hear what the deal was and I slightly admired her for knowing that I wouldn't put her in danger, but knowing I was desperate enough to hear her out.

"I'm listening."

"I want you to help me with school. Everything. Weapons, classes, combat- Everything."

I waited patiently as she took a breath, gathering the courage to ask for the second condition that I couldn't wait to hear.

"And I want to know what really happened to your hands."

I looked down at my palms by reflex. The wounds had healed since that encounter, but Macey had not forgotten. She was good, I'd give her that much.


	29. A Legend's Legend

. A/N: Sorry I didn't post yesterday. School is over for me, so I have no concept of time. I hope you all like the chapter!

Enjoy!

~Shay

* * *

I couldn't decide the best time to handle the situation with Victoria and Gail, and the issue had been bouncing around in my head for a while.

When Joe approached me for help in his class, I decided to go during Winter Break. It also happened to be the same day that the secret service stopped pestering Rachel.

Winter break was perfect. Almost 3 weeks of vacation and wasn't near any important dates that would have me stressing about Rachel. If I left now, I would miss too many classes to catch up, and if I left next month, then I would be cutting it close to Matt's death anniversary. I could vanish, come winter break, and nobody would come looking for me- it was perfect.

"I've already taught the girls about legends, but I want to show them a real one. So, will you do it?" Joe questioned, following me into the closet of magic and I nodded once more.

"I need to look the part. So, help me." I said instead of answering directly.

Joe looked like a gruff man, but he knew the difference between nylon, spandex and silk- which was more than I could say for most fashion designers.

Joe shifted through the clothing as I stripped down to my tank top and a pair of boxers that I had decided to wear on a whim that morning. It was a lucky happenstance, especially since I would have stripped to my underwear either way.

He did a double take once he handed me a fur-lined coat, and I grinned, happy I could still surprise him after all the years.

"I'm allergic to fox fur." I said, throwing it back.

I wasn't allergic to anything, but my cover was.

"Nice to see you still remember her." Joe laughed, and I turned to face him sharply.

"It's the first deep cover that nearly killed me, so I think I'll remember her forever." I retorted, spurring more laughter.

"Get out of here, Joseph." I demanded, playfully, when it became obvious that he wasn't going to do anything more than distant me with distant memories, and I even kicked him lightly as he walked out.

It took only a moment to open a familiar drawer and pull out the clothes I had asked Rachel for- as more of a reminder than actual clothes, but they fit perfectly.

There was only forty more minutes until Joe needed me in his class, but I still had so much work to do before I could fully become, Madam Verona.

Back when I was Madam Verona, I had to wear contacts to maintain the genie mystery, but my eyes had grown to the same shade from then. Patricia always joked that it was my eyes protesting against the amount of contacts I went through in that period of time.

Even though the deep cover had been over 10 years ago, my hand took the familiar path of covering my face with makeup. By the time I was finished, I was wearing every foundation known to man, blush, blue lipstick, blue eyeliner, and mascara. I couldn't demand much from the 90s.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw myself in the mirror. Whoever had thought of that makeup palette for a genie, must have been recovering from a lab tested drug.

When it came time to adorn the jewelry, I hesitated. I didn't want to take my wedding ring off. I moved it from my left hand to my right hand, but I wasn't ready to remove it completely. I decided against taking it off, instead hiding it behind a bulky ring.

I looked in the mirror one more time, just to make sure that I was completely in character, and grabbed a long trench coat as well as a hat to hide myself as much as possible until I could reach to Cove-ops room. I didn't mind wearing the decade old ensemble, because I had the confidence (or ego) to feel beautiful, but Rachel would probably be upset if she found out that I was "un-killing" my legend.

That why I ended up taking as many passages as possible, for the sole purpose of evading Rachel's always present eye. It took me precisely what I had left of the 40 minutes to get to his class, and I walked out of the elevators as he was introducing me. Oh the knack of perfect timing, and its benefits.

"Ladies, as we've discussed, a Legend means more than the text book definition. A legend must know every part of her life and be able to answer any question possible in the exact right amount of time. Know your 3rd grade English teacher too quickly, and you've been made. Forget your high school GPA, and you've been made. Why is this?"

I could only hear the conversation, coming across the bridge as silent as possible, but I knew the elevator had given my location away to at least Joseph. I didn't see the girl who had decided to answer, but I heard the voice of Tina Walters.

"Remembering something minute is harder to anyone who hasn't had the information drilled into their heads just 24 hours before. So if you're under scrutiny, and can immediately recall an unimportant detail, then you will be made." She replied, sounding confident in her answer, and it was fairly decent, and I stepped into the room in time to see her self-satisfied smile.

"Yes. You also have your partners in a legend. In various circumstances, you have a partner who goes undercover with you, and you must trust your partner with your life. The file you each have on your desk is an example of what can go wrong, even when you do everything right. Madam Verona, for example."

Apparently Joe had counted on me being a minute and a half late to class, and had even made it seem planned because all of the girls had a look of awe as I stepped in.

"Have they read the files?" I asked, ignoring the girls completely as I stripped the coat and cap- throwing them both onto the chair behind Joe's desk.

"Let's hope so." Joe said, indicating that he had absolutely no hope in the Gallagher Girls, but I knew better.

"Well?" I asked them, and they all responded in unison.

"Yes, Ma'am."

 _This isn't a skills op lesson,_ I told myself struggling to not ask the girls _why_ they called me ma'am.

"Tell her about the subject." Joe commanded, and the girls all raised their hands.

"Baxter, go."

"Madam Verona, Aged 23. Her cover was that she was moving to Italy after graduating from college in order to start a business career. She was a psychic on the side, garnering the attention of the very superstitious Mafia Boss, Caesar Russo. She quickly became an intricate part of his decision making, proving to be very useful and according to the report; she was his lover for a time being."

I waved my hand at Rebecca, stopping her and electing another girl to continue. I would have let her continue, but I felt like she would have gone farther into depth about that detail than I was comfortable with her saying or knowing.

"Madam Verona remained such power figure in his Mafia until such a time that her partner turned Russo against her in order to gain a higher payout. It was indicated in her partner's report that Madam Verona was killed trying to gain more information. However, her report was submitted three days after his declaring that she was deep-six and that her partner was a traitor."

I nodded along to Morrison's statement and mentally chose Cammie to go next, after I finished speaking.

"So I'm sure you've all gather by now that Madam Verona was my cover. I want you to tell me why he betrayed me, and how he succeeded in doing such which I had Caesar Russo practically wrapped around my finger. Cameron, go."

"The file says he sold you out in order to support his sick ex-wife back in the states, but all other avenues show that he was power hungry. His ex-wife was doing well financially and claimed that their split was definitely not amicable; he left in a storm of curses and death threats. Like Bex said before, Caesar Russo was seriously superstitious, so he believed you were a true psychic that could predict the future. Your partner convinced him that you were dangerous since your ability could lead the cops to arrest the whole organization."

It was Joe that cut Cammie off this time, and he motioned for me to take the backseat while he spoke.

"Ms. Solomon's only fault was that she was placed in a situation with an improperly vetted Agent who in turn, but her life in danger. The point of asking her here and having her dress like Madam Verona is to show you a real life legend. I want you to ask her questions, complete questions, and she will answer to the best of her ability. Mind you, this legend is 13 years old."

The girls came at me for the better part of an hour, staying past the time of normal dismissal to drill me on everything they could possibly think of but it was Elizabeth that came close to stumping me.

"Your Partner reported that you could possibly be pregnant at the time of the operation, but the CIA claimed to not have previous knowledge of a pregnancy before you entered into the op.. Were you pregnant before or after the operation? Also, if you became pregnant during the operation, is it correct to assume Mr. Russo was the father?"

Her question made me freeze as I scrambled for an answer in her question. I knew I couldn't wait too long because Joe would make it worse by trying to discretely save me, except nothing was discreet when it came to Gallagher Girls.

"I played the pregnancy card to my advantage. I was not actually pregnant, but having such a strong connection between, Russo and myself, would have allowed for a stronger bond- perhaps a bond that my partner wouldn't have been able to break. I faked such symptoms in front of my partner in hopes that he would report back to Russo that I was pregnant, before I did it."

I could tell from their faces that the girls bought the story, but Joe seemed surprised (although it was well hidden) at my logical reply. He was no less shocked than I was at myself. It hurt to pretend MJ wasn't real in that time, but not as much as it would have if the student population knew the real story.

'Class is 20 minutes over, ladies. I'm out." I laughed and waved, nodding to Joe briefly to tell him I was okay, but I pulled my phone out of my bra as I stepped into the hall from the elevator.

I typed quickly, knowing the girls wouldn't be far behind.

 **To Contact** : Beauty and the Beast

Drinks? Dinner? Maybe a late night on the roof?

I didn't wait for a reply, stuffing the device back into its place as the elevators dinged again and the first group of girls flooded the hall.

"Ms. Solomon!" Macey yelled, and I stopped to wait for her to catch up to me but didn't spare her a glance as she fell into step beside me.

"Yes, Macey?" I asked, expecting her to give me an update, or ask for my knowledge.

"There's a boy. His name is Josh Abrams, and Cammie has a serious crush on him. She snuck out, not alone, and she's going to do it again as often as possible. "

I looked at Macey from the corner of my eye as the cell phone buzzed against my chest, and her eyes drifted to the noise quickly before flicking up to meet my gaze.

"I already knew about the boy, didn't know she was sneaking out but I assume you all helped her and will continue to help her. What do you want in return?

My reply was short, but I wanted to read the text, and needed to be as far away from anyone as possible to do so.

"I need help in P&E. I'm strong, and can hurt someone but I can't control it."

I wondered what this deal was like for Macey. I got information, but she had to tell me about her weaknesses. I wondered if she was as indifferent as she played, or if it was humiliating on some level. It brought my respect up for her, since I knew from personal experience the effect it had.

"Okay, meet me tonight in the Barn. Get caught and I had no part of this. I'll wait 15 minutes after 11, and then I'll leave."

She nodded her understanding and began to turn around to meet up with the rest of the cafeteria draft.

"Macey. Expect to get hurt… I won't go easy on you, but I'll be as careful as possible." I said softly, knowing very well she would have a few bruises, but I hoped my warning showed that I was sorry it would happen.

I stood in the spot, waiting for Macey to walk away, and I pulled out my phone when I was completely alone.

 **From Contact** : Beauty and the Beast

Sorry, maybe some other time. I'm out of tone again, not sure when I'll be back.


	30. Fighting a different fight

A/N: Helllo Char! Thank you for the review, but you don't have to apologize about taking your time to review or forgetting to review completely (I am guilty of he same charge). You read _very_ deep into the story and it's characters and it opened my eyes to a few things, so thank you. I love developing Lanie and making her interact as much as you love reading about it. However, nearly everyone knows about Warren and Lanie. It's only the students and younger agents that assume she's married to Joe :) I love that you're suspicious of Belle because not many people are and I think mystery sort of _adds_ to the effect of the story. Being suspicious makes it fun. I also super love Macey, she has too much potential that isn't explored so I'm doing it myself. You could never ever bore me! I love hearing from you and hope you enjoy the new chapter! To the new(?) nonny, I'm glad you noticed the Annie reference in Chapter 8, I was very giddy when I wrote it ( I really really love musicals). and Music! I always plan to keep writing and finished, but I admit I get very happy to see your email. It makes my day. :)

A/NN: Also, I'm sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. I just- **did not** want to write it because it was coming out of my brain like I wanted it to. If that makes sense. ANYWAYS. My quota was to finish this chapter and then sleep, and all I'm missing is a title. Please enjoy.

Everyone stay safe, and stay loved.

Enjoy

~Shay

* * *

Macey was on time, as usual, and obviously ready to do some fighting. However, since she took her sweet time getting here, I had time to think about what _I_ was doing to here, and what I could be doing.

"Macey, I appreciate the attire, but we aren't fighting."

I didn't miss the breath of relief that came from her, but I also knew she wouldn't let it go without a fight.

"We made a deal!" Macey accused, keeping up her facade of anger up despite the fact that her eyes showed a completely different story.

"We did, but I think you'll find the alternate a better decision. Besides, we will be fighting, just not right now." I said, and walked out of the P&E building, expecting (and hoping) she would follow without hesitation.

"Where are we going?" Macey question, following but definitely not without hesitation, and I admired it.

"Relax, McHenry, I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to humble you."

We continued to walk across the green campus, without tripping any wires because I knew where they all were (and Joe had cut the electricity for three minutes).

I felt Macey dip into the shadows, and I followed her instinctively. Then decided to test her.

"Close your eyes and tell me what you hear."

I didn't have to look to know that Macey had followed my instructions; I could hear her take a deep breath.

"I hear someone- Mr. Solomon- talking. He's- on the phone. I hear a car? It's really soft, like it's far away but He's facing it."

I watched my brother-in-law as she described him, completely correct, and I was slightly smug that she could barely hear my car. I had Dr. Fibbs updating the speed and engine every time his prototype proved to be successful.

Macey followed me out of the shadows after a pregnant pause, probably wondering if Joe would yell at her for being out of bed, but there was honestly no curfew for the Gallagher Girls- they were just smart enough to get as much sleep as possible.

"Took you long enough." Joseph said, hitting the end button on his phone and opening the door for both of us.

"Field test." I said simply, swinging my body into the cushioned seat.

I didn't see the confirmation nod Macey gave to Joe, but I was positive it happened. When she sat behind me, I turned to look at her.

"Sit behind Joe, I'm going to lean the chair back and sleep. I suggest you get as much as you can."

I kicked my shoes off, waiting for Joe to get into the driver's seat, and stuck my bare feet out the window when he shut the door behind him.

"Can you tell me where we are going?" Macey asked, prompting Joe and I to share a quick, solemn glance before I brushed off the sadness.

"To meet someone who can teach you far more than either of us can.

"You sound like Yoda." Macey deadpanned, and a moment of silence passed before both Joe and I began laughing loudly.

"The mighty Macey McHenry, making Star Wars references!"

Macey look horrified for a moment, before she began backpedaling.

"What? No, I didn't mean- I mean-"

Joseph cut her off by cranking the music, an advertisement for some singer named Christina Grimmie. I had never heard anything from her before, but I made a mental note to look her up when we got back, she had an amazing voice.

I fell asleep to Joe singing a rendition of a song from a Broadway musical, something to do with not paying rent, and I was pretty sure Macey was trying to cover her ears. It was a homey sense of feeling.

It was Macey that woke me by squealing. Joe tried to shush her, but my senses flew to high alert the moment that her noise registered beside me instead of behind me.

I lurched from my comfortable position and yanked the wheel out of the path of a minivan that honked viciously. They laid on the horn until I pulled the car safely past them and onto the side of the interstate.

I unlatched my belt and stepped out of the car to calm my blood pressure. It was still dark out, and had just started to sprinkle in the cool night. It took quite a few deep breaths to not start shouting at Macey and Joe- _why in the hell_ did he put her behind the wheel of my car.

I calmly walked to the drive side and coaxed Macey out of the seat, and then into the back with Joe. I stopped him from trying to climb over the consul with a single glare.

"You put Gallifrey in the hands of a teenager, you don't get to ride shot gun." I said, happier than I intended it to come out, but the look on his face cheered me up, Joe hated riding backseat.

It was 2 am, and the ride was another 2 hours, but I tuned out their complaints of my driving by blasting the radio on a rock station. The blissful loud was cut short when Joe lunged forward and cut the music off, I slammed on the breaks and shoved him back into the seat. An angry driver honked at me again, and turned to face the children in my back seat.

"You have five seconds to give me a good reason or so help me-"

"Macey has to pee." Joe said, cutting me off, and one look at Macey convinced me that she had no idea that she had to pee.

"Macey does not have to pee." I replied back, stepping on the peddle a little harder than before and the speed shot to 50 immediately.

"Methinks Macey does."

I looked at Joe in the review mirror, and pressed the gas harder. 65.

"Methinks you want to stop by that store and see if that hot clerk works there still." I mocked him, failing to conceal my grin when Joe fell back into his seat with a grumble.

"Methinks you should slow down." Macey squeaked, practically clinging to her seat, and my eyes instinctively dropped to the speedometer- even though I knew exactly how fast I was going. 103 down an empty highway with the wind flying into the car and over my face, through my hair.

"Please, I trained the evasive driving teacher at Quantico. I'm _literally_ the champion of a cross-country underground race club. I can handle an empty road, especially in this baby." I assured her, giving my car a loving tap on the dash, and I even sped up to 107 to prove my point.

"You're going to miss the turn-off." Joe groaned, reminding me that I missed the road every time.

"Yes, but I'm I knew that." I smiled deviously and waited for the moment that Joe would sigh and tell me that we needed to turn around.

"Mrs. Solomon, maybe we should slow down before we missed the turn-off." Macey supplied, only serving to fuel my smile.

"It's too late, we just missed it."

I hoped Macey and Joe were buckled it as I threw the car into neutral, slammed the breaks, and twisted the wheel as far left as it would go. The car made the about face almost flawlessly (it was the first time I had applied my theory in real life), and I pushed it back into drive, moving into the blind driveway.

"I think- I think I'm dead. Am I dead? Does this mean I don't have to turn Smith's project?" Macey stammered, her labored breathing showing her fear more than her actual words.

"You're alive, but is Joe?" I asked, even though I could hear him groaning.

"You're an absolute gossa." He moaned, using an old trick from when Cammie was first learning to speak- use languages they couldn't possibly know in order to curse at one another.

"You would know, wouldn't you, gilipolles." I answered playfully back, turning my headlights down as the house came into sight.

"You did call and tell them we were coming, right?" I questioned, not believing he had when most of the lights were off in the house.

"No, Melantha. I decided not to tell the scary spies that we were coming to their house early in the morning. I thought it would be a fun experience for Macey to almost die." Joe deadpanned, and I gave him the bird out of Macey's eye-shot.

I noticed Joe look past me instead of retaliating, so I turned my head to the window, and jumped out of my skin. Jane Eaton was standing a foot away, without even the slightest inkling of how long she had been standing there.

I cursed at her, silent to her ears, but she cracked a smile none-the-less and I immediately knew it was the first time she smiled in a while.

I gave a hug to her as soon as I was free of my car, knowing that despite the fact her husband had lived, him losing a leg had as much of a toll on her as it did on him.

"How are you?" I asked her, subtle blocking the backseat door so they would be forced to get out on the opposite side.

"Everyone always seems to ask how Gabe is." She responded, deflecting my question.

"I'll ask that next, but I know better than anyone that you're struggling with this just like he is, but it's just in a different way."

Jane accepted my answer with a nod and made a move to lead us inside but I grabbed her arm to hold her back. Had it been any other day, and I, any other person, she would have flipped my right on my ass.

"Macey, Joe, why don't you go inside and get acquainted. Jane and I are going to do a quick circumference sweep.

Neither of them protested, probably gathering that I wanted some alone time with my friend to comfort her and assess the situation, which was pretty much true.

We began walking in sync before the front door even opened. Joe knew his way around, and was comfortable enough to call the house a safe house of sort, although none of us believed that any house was truly safe.

"So, how are you?" I questioned, and she sighed.

"The real answer or the political one?"

"The real one, of course." I assured her, ignoring the side eye she was giving me.

"It's a pain. I love Gabriel so much but he has lost the will to do anything he loved. I can barely maintain his pessimistic attitude as well as my own. I don't know what to do, but I know I want to help, but I hate what he's doing to himself."

Jane and I had a good relationship. She had always been one of the people I could count on, more-so after she became one of my bridesmaids and was locked up in a Korean prison with me after a failed bachelorette party. We only fell apart apart after a drunken night in Vegas that broke up her last relationship, something I still felt bad about, but we were still here for each other.

"And the Political one?"

She seemed surprised that I didn't immediately comfort her, but that's not what she needed right now, she had enough people being a shoulder to cry on.

Jane looked at me before replying with an eerily calm voice, "I'm fine. I'm just worried about Gabe."

I knew what she was feeling, but I wasn't going to make this a competition about whose husband had the worse ailment.

"I'll knock some sense into him. Gabriel doesn't know that he's hurting you, and he'll snap out of it after I talk to him." I told her, and I seen the hesitation in her eyes.

"Don't worry. If you don't mind telling Macey about Madagascar, I'll take care of your husband and he'll never even think you were upset."

Jane trusted me way more than she should, but I vowed that I would not jeopardize her marriage for anything. I would spend all of my time helping with Gabe if that's what it meant, but I wouldn't leave Jane to go through his recovery alone.

"Let's go in. I'm sure Gabriel is dying to see you both." Jane deadpanned, just as we walked back up on the house and I nodded.

"Just like old times. Entering a hostile area-"

"No weapons, and down a whole team."

Jane and I shared a final laugh before she opened the door to her house, and the shouting was the first thing to reach my ears.

* * *

 _ **In Memory of those who lost their lives doing no more than being themselves and in honor of love and peace Christina Grimmie, and the victims, brought to this world.**_


	31. It's a trap (AN)

Hello everyone! Just an authors note, Ill post whenever I wake up. Just want to say that, although I do check my email regularly, Tumblr Is becoming the fastest way to reach me. (That-writing-girl). You can ask questions about anything; Lanie, LYKM, my plans for writing more, any other fics, suggestings characters, ideas, or plots. Anything in general! Thanks everyone, have a good day/night and my the gays be ever in your favor.

~Shay (the gayest)

P.S. I just wrote the newest chapter, just in case you think the email alert was for this. THANKS!


	32. The same fight- different day

A/N: Hey Char! Like I said, I'm guilty of the same thing. Me too honestly, I love writing the scenes but I'm worried they fall flat in the plot, you know what I mean? Like, I was worried about the last chapter and this one, but I'm glad you like it. I feel like Macey has more than she is, and I love Joe so much Dare-I-say, he's one of my favorites?).

A/NN: Sorry for taking so long, my computer crashed with the saved file and I was not very pleased. I didn't want to rewrite. BUT I DID. SO HERE WE ARE.

Enjoy

~Shay

* * *

The shouting put me on edge immediately, but Jane took her time shutting the door behind her.

"Don't worry; he does that every time I bring someone new in. He probably assumes the girl is a psychiatrist," Jane assured me but I heard her mutter under her breath, "even though I only did that once."

"Even so, it's probably frightening her. Macey came to learn from him, not to be scared by him." I said, trying to get her to take me, but she wasn't having it.

"They're in the fighting room. That's all he does all day, he sits in there and stares at himself through the mirror. Anyways, you know how to get there; I'm supposed to fix him his medication in a way he won't expect, he's starting to get suspicious of the pudding."

"Try dissolving it in the Jack." I offered, and Jane turned away from the kitchen to scrutinize me with her hallow eyes.

"You can smell it?" She questioned, looking embarrassed, so I shook my head instead of nodding.

"Jack was my go-to; I think he picked it up from me."

I didn't wait for us to continue forceful conversation, not when I had a child to save from a potential asshole. Gabriel was a great person, but he didn't handle his own issues very well, which was definitely why we had gotten along so well in the first place. When we first met, all of our problems were easily solved by punching them in the face, but it wasn't like that anymore.

Macey didn't seem scared when I found her, in fact, she looked angry. The look she gave me when I walked in was enough to know she blamed me for putting her in that position.

"Hello, Gabriel." I greeted but received a glare in return, so I put my hands up in mock surrender.

"If you came all this way to tell me I'm being ridiculous- you can leave. Everyone else has already beaten you to the punch."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not here for you. I'm here for the Jack; Rachel won't let me keep any at the school. Do you know how hard it is to sleep without it?"

I tried to ignore that fact that Macey was making a mental profile in her head of me and Gabriel, trying to piece together the kind of person I was.

"Stop trying to establish a connection." Gabriel snapped, showing me just how angry he was at the world for what happened to him.

"Establish a connection? Gabriel please, we've had a connection. Remember that ball? It took more than our fine looks for that," I made sure he seen me look him up and down before I went for the low blow, "at least you still have the connection."

Gabe was a pretty boy. He was a pretty boy that could kick some ass, but he was a pretty boy nonetheless, and he was very invested in his looks.

"Screw you, Melantha."

"Not with that beer Belly."

Joe started to nudge Macey out of the room, but I shook my head no. This was what I wanted her to see.

"You don't want to start with me, Solomon." Gabriel advised, reaching for his amber glass, but I stole it from his grasp, downing it in one swallow.

"I do want to start with you, Eaton, not that you could defend yourself since you're too busy defending your alcohol problem."

"My- my alcohol problem? I've personally held your hair back after you binged on only Jack for a week straight. That is an alcohol problem, you bitch."

"You don't know when to let stuff go. Spain was a bad time for me- you know that! I wasn't the only one hiding in Spain, wasn't there a child you were running from, you let her go very fast."

"You're going badger me about not letting go? You're a hypocritical whore. It's been 10 years and you're still hung up on Warren." Gabriel jeered.

"Gabriel!" Joe warned him but Gabriel sneered.

I was shocked at his words, but more so at his attitude. I had never seen him so hateful before, and it was pretty frightening.

"First of all, Eaton, don't ever call me a whore again. Second, that's nice, real nice but we aren't here to discuss my deep psychological issues. We're here to discuss yours."

I tried to keep from snapping, but he was pushing all of the right buttons, and my temper was on a short fuse.

"Joe, if you would." I said, not giving any instructions, but he led Macey from the room.

A little confrontation and history would only hurt if Macey ran her mouth, but I didn't need Macey to see a grown man cry.

"Time for sentimentality?" He glowered, crossing his arms and turning toward the TV (a very annoying car advertisement was playing).

"Yes. Time for sentimentality." I declared, plopping down in front of him but not blocking the TV so he didn't have to look me in the eyes.

He didn't try to make conversation with me, so I took it as my cue to begin my well rehearsed plan.

"It's easy for you to attack me, and draw attention away from yourself because you know me. You know I would never attack you when you can't defend yourself, and you know exactly what buttons to hit that will make me stand down," Gabriel was still staring into the TV but his attention was on me completely, "and yea, mentioning Warren is the best way to get me to shut my mouth but I'm here for my friends."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Gabriel whispered but I just shrugged it off as if it hadn't hurt at all.

"I just want you to think about what you're doing. You refuse to move, or even practice walking on the prosthetic. So many people are willing to kill you and Jane. So many people would love to see you dead and would jump at an opportunity if they knew you were vulnerable."

"I'm not vulnerable." He chimed in, sounding more like he was sulking than defending himself.

"Oh, I guess not. Jane could probably stand her own against a couple attackers. Although, she's been out of the CIA for a while, maybe she's a little rusty against highly trained killers. Would you just sit here, unable to help or defend yourself as you see the love of your life fight for your lives?" I asked him, and I seen it whirling through his head.

"I didn't think about her." He realized, jerking his eyes from the television to mine- they were watery and blood-shot.

"I know, and she does is think of you. She would die to protect you, but you need to help her so she doesn't." I explained, hoping my words would do more than anyone else had been able to.

I see the tears begin to creep out of his eyes, revealing to me that it was my time to go, but I waited for him to dismiss me.

"Get out." He said and I didn't have to be told twice.

"I'll see you later, Gabe."

He didn't reply, but I didn't expect him to. Jane was waiting outside of the door with his medicine as I came out, and I shook my head no to warn her off.

"He needs a few minutes to think." I replied to her worried glance at the door.

"Are you guys looking to stay the night?" Jane questioned.

"No, I don't think Macey wants to miss school."

"Reasonable. I remember school being difficult; I don't think I would have survived Buckingham without you." She laughed and I laughed to, echoing her reaction rather than produce it myself- I didn't really feel like laughing.

As we came around the corner to the obsessively organized living room, we seen Macey passed out on the couch

"Macey didn't sleep on the ride?"

"No, she drove after we left town up until you woke up."

I mentally chastised myself for not waking during the change of drivers. The fact that they hadn't disturbed me was worrying. Was I losing my touch?

"Joe, wake her up. We have a long drive back." I ordered, my voice coming across as angry since I was mad with myself.

As we said our goodbyes, Macey trudged back to the car in annoyance at being woken, but she would have been more annoyed if Joe or I had carried her to the vehicle ourselves.

"Call me when he's back on his feet." I told Jane as we all walked together to the car, and she nodded happily.

"Of course, thank you for coming. I'll see you later." She recited, but I didn't say anything, even as we parted ways.

Joseph wasn't any less observant, he tossed me a look as he fell into the passenger seat, and I have him one of my own in return. It was all of the communication we needed to come to the same conclusion- ignore it, she's been having a hard time.

"What did you learn, Macey?" Joseph question after we got onto the main road.

"I should be grateful that my life isn't harder." She answered dutifully, causing us both to roll our eyes.

"Okay, now the answer you haven't rehearsed since I told you I was going to humble you."

"No matter how good I think I am, someone else is better?" She asked, and I decided that she had this answer first until she realized how in-depth it was.

"Macey, that is a great answer. I don't ever want to hear something generic from you again, okay?" I cleared with her and Joe nodded his agreement (I could hear Macey sigh in the backseat).

"That's not how he lost his leg, if I'm being perfectly honest but don't forget what you just said. What I was getting at, is that you can be the best spy in the country but there is always something to remind you that you're not everything you think you are."

Macey nodded her head in silence, contemplating over what I had said, and I pulled into the gas station that was starting a change in shift.

I climbed out, followed by Joe and then by Macey, but my brother-in-law cocked his head at me.

"What are we doing here?" He questioned, slightly suspicious of my motives as I cross the car to see the store without anything blocking my vision.

"The hot girl still works here. I thought maybe you'd want her number." I grinned, and his eyes lit up.

I would never get over how happy he got at the prospect of flirting with someone.

"You are the best! I'll be right back."

I waited until he was in the store to lean on my car and give Macey a wicked smile.

"Go pretend to be his daughter." I suggested and she scrutinized me.

"Why?" She prodded, knowing better than to run head on.

"It'll be funny."

That was all the persuasion she needed, and she was after Joe in a second.

Traffic was starting for the early morning rush when I looked up at the sky, it was barely dark enough to see the fading stars but it was comforting to see the thousands of lights looking back down on me. I liked to think that both of my parents, my son, and Warren were all in the stars watching me.

I remembered Gabriel's venomous words with the sting that they had wanted.

 _"_ _It's been 10 years and you're still hung up on Warren."_

Even if he hadn't meant the words he said just seconds later, he was right. I fiddled with the ring, finding solace in the familiar motion, but Joe and Macey broke my thoughts as they came hurdling out of the store.

Looking at Joe's face, a mixture of Amusement and revenge, and Macey's face, pure bliss, was enough to remind me that being hung up might not be as terrible as Gabriel made it out to be.

I allowed myself to believe the lie as Joseph tackled me into the car, and laughter bubbled from my chest.


	33. Hiatus Title Reveal

Hey guys. Please forgive me, but I'm going on Hiatus for the time being. I shouldn't be gone to long, but I have to much on my plate for the next month and I need to finish what I'm doing before I continue with the story. I plan on writing the rest of LYKM (that will always be the end goal) and I hope to continue on with the next story, which will be called "Keep the secret till I die" (a play on Cross my Hear and hope to spy). I really hope you guys don't forget about my story and come back to read it once I go active again. I'm going to post one more chapter in "Before Loving You Killed Me" before I go on Hiatus. I'm really sorry guys, but I did this as a last resort. Thank you guys so far for reading and reviewing! Especially Char (you're honestly the best) and Music (although I'm not sure if you follow me on here). I'll be posting this on Tumblr as well. Like I said, I'm really sorry, but I should be back late July or early August. I promise you that I will finish the story!

(You guys can still message me on Tumblr That-writing-Girl to ask questions, or simply say hi)

~Shay, XO


	34. A lapse in Several things

A/N: I'M BACK! School is in session and I'm writing on the bus to and from school, so maybe i'll actually start posting on time.

A/NN: Hope you're all still with me and I hope you like the new chapter! :)

Enjoy!

~Shay

* * *

I found myself in the Gallagher Chapel a lot following that day with the Eatons. I had come in here several times, only to find it occupied by students and staff, and decided to come down on a day none of them would dare be here. Sloppy-Joe Friday in the dinning hall.

I remembered the chapel to be calm when I came here as a student, and the air hadn't changed after all those years of tears and prayers to a God or Gods who might not even exist.

As an assassin, it was hard for me to believe in something that required you have faith with no doubt, especially when my job demanded me to have no faith and doubt everything. Even after Warren revealed to me that he was a devout catholic, I found it hard to relinquish my control, and I only did it to make my family happy.

I clutched the rosary in my hand, making the traditional cross as I stepped through the massive doors. All I could concentrate on was my breathing, labored and quick no matter how I tried to calm it. It was as if my whole speech was whisked away in some attempt to make me speak from the heart.

"Hey- Hi. Hi God. I haven't done this in a while, and there isn't a priest around so maybe I can just say the words and you listen."

My ears strained for a sound as I finished speaking, listening for approval but nothing found its way to me. I guess it wasn't a no then. I walked to the front of the room and kneeled against the steps, my knees groaned in protests as they remembered the actions mass required of them.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It's been 3,212 days since my last confession, and I accuse myself of the following sins. Father, I have too many sins to say but you know them all and I beg your forgiveness. For these and all the sins I have committed which I may have forgotten, I am sorry."

I stood from the steps but only moved a few feet to sink into a pew. Confession always made me feel better, even if I was pretending to be someone I wasn't.

It wasn't hard to remember when I became skeptical of the holy trinity watching over, but it was probably around the time that my ex-best friend began getting jealous of how much time I spent in the chapel with Ray. I could still hear her mocking me.

 _"Why are you confessing your sins, Melanie? You're going to hell for them anyways. As if God would want a spy."_

She was absolutely poisonous and I did everything to get her approval.

I slouched even further, my chin nearly touching my chest as I spoke aloud.

"I'm not sure where you went, God. I really needed you when I lost my mind in Spain. Maybe it was because I turned my back on you, but I thought you were supposed to love unconditionally. I thought a lot of things but none of them really were true." I stopped to make sure that the chapel was still empty, stretching to remove the fatigue from my body.

I sighed, feeling ridiculous but I got down on my knees once more.

"It's time to say goodbye, father. Peace be with you." I whispered, kissing my rosary and crossing myself once more.

On my way down the hall, I made sure to tuck the rosary in the space of my bra that it wouldn't be seen (I'd rather it scratch me than explain to Rachel what I was doing).

I slipped into the loud dinning hall, relishing in the noise for once. Rachel smiled as I made my way over to her at the Salad bar.

"How was the chapel?" She asked, picking a tomato up from her plate and tossing it into her mouth.

"Very quiet, thank you." I replied with a sigh, knowing very well that it was nearly impossible to hide something for the headmistress.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, I just wanted you to know that you can move the rosary to somewhere more comfortable."

I pursed my lips as I filled my plate with food, contemplating just how she would know that. It took me only a moment to realize that my shirt fell open just enough while I was leaning over to reveal the object I tried to hide, and my twin as at a perfect angle to see it.

"I was almost impressed. Almost." I admitted, slightly bumping into her.

"Listen, kid. When you get to be my age-"

"Rachel, you're five minutes older than me."

My sister ignored my intrusion and plowed on with her sentence, a little louder than before.

"When you get to be my age, being an international spy starts to become difficult." Rachel said, holding back a grin, and I lightly flicked her ear.

"I'm calling Bullshit." I replied with a huff of laughter as I remembered how she convinced a casino to give her 1.6 million dollars, after she caught someone cheating them for nearly a billion, just a couple month ago.

"Here." Rachel said, scooping bacon-bits onto my salad and I returned the favor.

"You're a brat." I told her after she tossed a few raspberries into my mixture, but I promptly picked them out and ate them.

"Then you're going to hate this. I need you to run interference with me for career day." My sister smiled sweetly as I groaned.

"Please don't tell me that we're inviting the ATF. Do you remember what they did when we were in school? They had to condemn the hall for weeks!" I complained, but her shifty eyes told me everything I needed to know.

"They promised they wouldn't bring any drugs this time." She assured me, garnering the ears of a few students we had passed on the way back up to the staff table.

"I don't believe them. I'll call a friend in the DEA to search ATF before they come in. Oh hell, this will be marvelous."

My sister laughed at my exasperation but she didn't understand just how much planning I was doing in my mind.

"Relax and eat your pasta." Rachel said, mildly confusing me until I realized that she has somehow managed to replace my salad with the Italian cuisine.

I noticed Joe snickering and determined that he was to thank for the switch, Rachel was merely a distraction for me. I laughed lowly to myself, it had been a very long while since they had run an op on me (and longer since they had gotten away with it).

I talked minimally with my sister, taking more time watching the students interact with one another.

Macey was being more accepted by my nieces and Liz, it was something that comforted me more than I thought it would. It wasn't just Macey though, I noticed, many girls were mingling with students they had never met before. Whether or not Professor Buckingham had assigned a project didn't change the sudden warmth I felt for the academy again. Once a sister, always a sister, it seemed.

The thought gave me an idea (as well as the fact that Joseph was still fighting to stifle his deep laughter), and I fought to stifle my own as I ate the smooth noodles.

I waited patiently for seniors to begin leaving with their designated cliques, and I took extra precaution not to look too interested in them as I slipped out the side door- nodding slightly to my sister as the only indication I wasn't coming back for a second plate.

It wasn't hard to guess where the girls were headed when there was a major project due in Smiths- a project that had already resulted in a senior taking a trip to the medic after an unfortunate hot-glue accident.

After taking the appropriate passages, I managed to escape the walls a full corridor ahead of the girls I was watching, and they walked directly upon me in the shadows.

"Oh! Mrs. Solomon! I apologize, I didn't see you standing there." She said quickly, adding a pleasant smile to convey her sincerity and I knew I picked the right girl.

"That was the point, Sierra-Leone." I replied with an equally pleasant smile, and caution crept into her face as she narrowed her eyes lightly.

"Was there something you needed, professor?" She questioned me, filling me with glee as I mentally analyzed her every move- distancing herself by calling me professor and even dropping her formal words to give the impression she would tell me no.

I applauded her in my mind, making a note to bump her up a full letter grade. Not many people could stand up to me so coolly without even a falter.

"I need you and your friends to discretely head to my room and wait for me. Tell no one, and don't be followed or I'll kick you out the moment I get back." I supplied, being mysterious to trigger her spy instincts into agreeing to at least meet with me.

"Of couse, professor, all you had to do was ask." She replied, her friends sending looks to one another behind her back.

I smiled one more time and watched them all turn around to head back to my room. They didn't make it out of earshot before I heard one of her friends say, "did she seriously call us your friends, and does she even know our names? Wait, better yet, how does she know your name?"

I didn't give Sierra-Leone the time to respond before I called across the distance, "She was the last senior left in red rover."

I could nearly feel the embarrassment from the girl and it made me feel bad enough to say, "I know all of your names, Victoria. I'm an internationally unrecognized spy for a reason."

She nodded her head, but it was obvious I made her feel only a little bit better because she physically began ushering her friends to walk faster.

I took my time rounding up a few other senior girls, and two juniors who were particularly handy with no getting caught doing things they shouldn't (although not as good as they would think).

By the time I was done collecting the girls, I had grown so accustomed to making myself fit in passages meant for children that I even managed to be the last three kids into the class.

"Before we start, I need Corey and Ashley too leave," I continued speaking when I seen a protest forming on their lips, "you were followed by an underclassmen."

Despite their continuing protest, I didn't budge and pointed to the door to make it clear I didn't offer a second chance. It was pitiful to watch them sulk as they headed toward the door, and to add insult to injury I said, "Send her in. She's in the room across from here."

Only a moment later, my favorite sophomore was smiling deviously among the senior class.

"Hello, Macey. No surprise to see you here." I told her, the seniors glaring as if they assumed I didn't want Macey to find us.

"Well, I heard something very curious and you know how much I love curious." She replied, just as relaxed as Sierra-Leone had been (I sensed they would be fast friends given the chance).

I gave the sophomore a smile of my own before returning to address the whole class once more.

"I need complete confidentiality. If you breathe a word to anyone- I will know and I will remove you from this... extracurricular activity." I informed them, watching as each one became more excited for information.

"We solemnly swear we are up to no good." One of the bookworms replied with a mischievous smile, forcing a laugh out of me.

"Excellent. How would you girls like to take part in the biggest covert operation to ever take place at Gallagher Academy?" I asked, receiving dead silence in return.

"A prank. You want us to help you with a prank?" Sierra-Leone questioned, the only one daring to show her exasperation.

"Not just any prank. A prank against everyone, no one is safe except the people in this room. Are you in?"

I waited for their responses before I went into more detail, and slowly they all began replying slowly- affirming their participation with equal glee.


	35. A threat to Sanity, Self, and Sapiens

A/N: SO. Maybe I'm the worst author ever. Maybe I've had this written for two weeks and kept putting off posting it because I procrastinate to much. Maybe I'm only posting know because I'm procrastinating Spanish homework. It's a lot of maybes, so we'll never really know.

A/NN: I'm already working on the next chapter, a third(ish) of the way through with it. I can't wait to really introduce Gail, so she's been stealing my attention with side stories (I have two major ones both under construction right now).

A/NNN: Anyways, hope you like the story and I hope to hear from you all!

Enjoy

~Shay

* * *

The kids I had recruited looked to me impatiently in the days to come, waiting for me to sound the alarm system that would unleash all-out chaos on the occupants of Gallagher Academy but I shook my head and continued to wait for the right time. It came to the point that I had to keep my seniors out of the school and as busy as possible to keep spoilers from getting out. Who knew Gallagher Girls were impatient when it came to practical jokes?

However, according to Macey, a certain someone would miss the fiasco completely but the only thing I could do was point out to Rachel that Cam seemed to have disappear completely from the Career fair. I didn't like to think about outing Cameron like that, but someone needed to watch out for her- someone more knowing to the dangers of an outsider than her friends.

In one of my endeavors to keep the girls busy, I convinced Rachel to let me take them to an off-road obstacle course. I heard through the grapevine that there was a course set up by a few of the town's most rebellious teenagers whom had found it in themselves to do the most _unrebellious_ thing possible... Get rid of their anger and angst via exercise .

At least the girls were pumped about getting out, and I was even able to commandeer a large van from the garage to take them in.

"Mrs. Solomon, I am increasing worried that this escapade isn't school approved." One of the girls in the back informed me, and I hit another steep bump on the back road.

"What gave you that impression." I asked, slightly insulted since I had gotten permission from Rachel a couple hours beforehand.

"This car still has the test vehicle sticker." She answered honestly, sounding slight slick.

Okay, maybe I hadn't asked permission to take the van. However, I had never done something that I couldn't pretend to apologize for later. This was probably one of those things.

Completely ignoring the girl, I continued in the general direction of the place. I could hear the whispers between them as I drove, but before they could start a mutiny, I skidded to a stop in a pile of mud (rain made for great dramatics) and turned to them.

"Out."

While they all looked at their surroundings, I locked the car as well as I could. If any kids tried to steal it, they'd be in for a nasty surprise anyways. The thought was enough to put a grin on my face as I caught the girls' attention.

"Obviously, this is an obstacle course. Part man-made, part earth-made. It's not as grueling as a professional obstacle course, but you'll find that your neighborhood kids are quite resourceful." I told them before motioning toward a piece of 'equipment' that was falling apart.

"Also obvious, if it looks like a tetanus trap, skip the obstacle."

The girls nodded in various degrees of reluctance as if, though a death trap, they would have attempted to make it through the broken sections.

"First one through gets the highest grade, second one gets a 95, third gets a 90 and so-on."

They all sighed heavily as I pitted them against each other yet again. I honestly didn't understand what they would expect from a skills-op teacher.

"On my mark!" I shouted over them, pointing toward the first obstacle.

After forming a neat line, the girls waited for my command and darted over the makeshift start-line when I told them to do so.

I pulled my private phone out of my pocket as I watched for the last girl to leave my eye sight. The track was nearly six miles long through the woods, most of it being running, so I would have quite a bit of time; but not too much time since Dabney worked them extra hard as the graduating class.

After one short ring, the phone was picked up without a word but I could hear the breathing that only came from fear.

"Diego, if you don't answer the phone quieter, I'll have to replace you." I practically purred, playing up on his fear of me, and the reaction was immediate- and satisfying.

"I apologize Mrs. Solomon. I'll transfer you over to Maurice for family, then Anna for public relations. Finally you'll end with me for your bank statements." He informed me, taking a breath at the beginning to calm himself, and I was transferred without another word.

"Yo, Lay! What up girl." Maurice answered as if I was his only client in the world, but I couldn't resist the happiness in his mood.

"Same shit, different day. What's the word on the street?"

"Your girl is still in the wind and your latest scout was found dead but you can discuss that with the next person. Abby is currently seeing a guy named Ryan Roberts Jr. but she's totally going to break up with him which was indicated in a two hour call between her and a coworker named Ivory. Ivory's full name wasn't possible to come by, she's probably on president detail very often. Finally, Alice. Her mom got a new job but she was unenrolled from the private school you paid for. A reminder has been sent out, and we believe that Morgan will place her back at the Academy. It's unknown as to why she put Alice back in a public school but she normally does something drastic to get your attention. That's all I have, any questions?"

I loved Maurice, he was efficient and private and had no issue with me using multiple people to maintain my life. He was also the best at not asking questions, which was priceless in an adviser.

"Send out Jackson but tell him not to get to close, I like him and don't want him dead. Find her and leave, do not make contact. He'll put up a fight but he owes me a favor. Send my sister flowers from him with her name wrong on the card, that'll speed the process up. I love Abby, but that Jr. guy is more toxic than Ed will ever be. Intercept the message to Morgan and send her a threat instead. Write that I'll cut off her funds. That'll be all, transfer me to Anna. Stay well, Maurice, call me if you need anything." I didn't pause to make sure he wrote everything down, Maurice has one of the most gifted minds I had ever met in my life, and yet he still managed to be the life of the party.

"You too, baby Lay." He replied, followed by a click and a ring for Anna's phone.

I always dreaded the phone call with Anna. She was a stark difference from Maurice and Diego. She wasn't scared of me, nor did she consider me her friend, ever the professional and didn't care if I asked for an opinion.

"Greetings Melantha, a pleasure as always. I'm sure your last contact informed you that your latest agent has been found dead. I took the liberty of sending flowers on your behalf as well as paying for the funeral. The next agent has not yet been sent out from what I can tell but I'll inform you the moment they go dark. Your agents in both Alaska and Tiawan are reporting clear views for miles so it's time to move them again. Other than that, no news outlets or social media are reporting any suspicious activities. Finally, you need to get rid of Gail Rainer. She has sent three agents after me and if I get blood on my dress one more time, I'll quit."

Her hostility at the end shocked me, I had never heard more than monotonous boredom from her. I knew she had a new family, and being attacked near them was frightening, but I had no idea how Gail knew who I was contacting.

"I'll take care of Gail, she's making a power move and a point. Don't worry about her coming after you anymore. On another note, perhaps it's time to consider retirement. Think it over, tell me your decision whenever you're ready. If you agree to stay then I'll give you a raise and help you move somewhere safer. " I said and she sighed, being offered retirement in the spy world wasn't a suggestion but more of a command, but I wouldn't push her out if she wasn't ready.

"Of course, I'll contact you at a later date." She murmured and hung up.

I hung up too, not feeling like going over bank records with a man who might pee himself at any time my voice rose. Not to mention the girls were getting to close for comfort. Besides, after that last hit, I had plenty of money in my bank, high target hits always payed extra.

It was satisfying to see the girls trying to outrun each other, the slowest girl only half an obstacle away. The smiles on their faces told me that they weren't taking it too serious, but when they suddenly stopped five feet before the finish line, it worried me.

"What's going on?" I asked, since my observation wasn't picking up on anything that would be stopping them.

None of them replied but I noticed that the smartest girl began making a line. Pulling the girls from one spot and moving them up and down it. It wasn't until she placed herself at the back and commanded them all to walk that I realized what they were doing.

They were breaking my grading scale. The girl with the lowest grade was at the front, and the girl with the highest at the back. The girls finally figured out how they could force me to give them the grades they wanted.

A smile crossed my face when they formed a semi-circle around me, completely silent as they waited for me to say something.

"Congratulations. Work together like that more often and you'll see your grades improve. However, make sure you can tell the difference of when to work individually and as a team. Everyone gets a perfect score. Good job." I determined, striding away as they began to cheer, but only so they wouldn't hear me laughing.

After I buckled up my seat, it took only a moment for the girls to climb into the van behind me, still chatting about their victory.

"You did good ladies but you need to realize that I expected this of you from the beginning. I'm not impressed but I am proud. You can't out-bullshit a professional bullshitter, ladies."

They continued to laugh and chatter. About; school, winter break and their upcoming midterms. I knew midterms were a stressful time for all students of Gallagher, but I wasn't sure what my own class would have in store for them.

I heard my phone ring, and once I looked to see the contact information, I knew it was no coincidence that Gail was calling after I got off the phone with my advisers or that I was in a car full of Gallagher Girls.

I ignored it, but it caught the seniors attention anyways. Luckily, they thought better of my respect for them than to ask about it.

Gail was definitely stressing me out. I hadn't bothered to call and tell her when I was coming, I planned on just showing up. I didn't want her to have time to set up her palace of horrors to accommodate me.

Not to mention whatever shit Morgan was trying to pull by taking Alison out of a perfectly good private school. I had threatened the headmaster into silence and everything. If he decided not to call me after she was dis-enrolled, it was probably time to remind him that I was still watching.

I sighed as the girls continued chattering. I was too stressed out for all of the threatening I had to do over the next few days. Speaking of stress, at least I had finally come up with an idea to watch Cammie as she went out on career night; even if it meant maybe missing the prank disaster.


	36. Career Night Date NightEvery Night

A/N: annnnddd. Its here! Sorry it took so long, but the story is 1300 words longer than usual. Not much, but I'm struggling to write as it is. I have writers block or some such. Tell me what you think of the chapter! Happy Holidays!

Enjoy!

~Shay

* * *

Admittedly, I missed the unity of the Gallagher uniforms until Rachel reminded how much they made us conform to a standard level.

Without free reign over my own fashion, I was just another teacher, one who could kill and flirt like everyone else. Nothingness, but it was the last few special. However, I could still make myself stand out from the rest of them. Simply with the way I carried myself.

Rachel had marched into my room as I graded papers and thrown various clothes onto my desk with a command to wear them at the career fair; the standard "business woman" look.

I immediately stalked into the closet and found a two sided shirt that was pretty similar to the one she had given me. The only difference was that mine didn't have 'Gallagher Academy' embroidered on the front. It wasn't really necessary, since it was very obvious I was no longer in the field if I was attending a career fair for high schoolers.

All students were off today, so the teachers could prepare the academy for visitor- visitors who likely carried all sorts of thing we specifically asked them not to bring in.

Each agency coming had provided us with flyers to place around the room, but they were accountable for setting up their stands. If I had to look at one more 'YOU'LL ALWAYS KNOW WHY WITH THE FBI' poster, I would likely vomit. It was moments like this that made me wonder if that summer in Cuba was such a bad idea.

I sighed loudly as I picked up the next stack. If I thought Budapest was a good idea, I was really off my rocker. The only reason I didn't quit right there, was the fact that Joe had hot glued one of the FTA flyers to his hand after his genius plan failed. I loved Joe; he was a brilliant spy, but I lived for his inventions. He tried to be an everyday MacGyver, super resourceful and a quick thinker on his feet; but nothing stumped him more than trying to invent something on-the-go. However, he could totally break someone out of a prison in Africa in twenty minutes (not that it had ever happened).

My brother saw my snickers from across the room, and came bounding over promptly. It was extremely amusing to watch him come hopping, literally, over with a smile on his face.

"Have a date tonight?" Joe asked me, sounding more certain than the question lead me to believe.

"No, why?"

"You're wearing fake nails." He supplied, picking up one of my hands and examined it closely as if he'd never seen fake nails before.

"It's for career night, they'll be coming off immediately after," I lied and then looked down at my papers as an idea to change the subject came to mind, "now, help me, please."

Joe gave me one pitiful look (probably because the lie was equally pitiful) before he hoisted me onto his shoulders. At least we wouldn't have to wait for one of the ladders to make their way to us again.

Admittedly, Joe and I began to show-off after finishing another stack of flyers; it wasn't the first time I had been perched atop his shoulders (Budapest was a really weird time for all of us).

Luckily, we were away from the wall when Joe decided to slip. Slip. It wasn't until we were both on the ground that I realized Joe wasn't just trying to jostle me. I had never seen Joseph slip on accident, but he was bleeding- so I doubted he has done it on purpose.

Then I felt a warm drip hit my cheek, and my hand went up reflexively; I caught a glimpse of a broken nail before I grazed the wound on my eyebrow. It wasn't gushing, but it was definitely enough to stain my shirt if I didn't control it soon.

"Joseph, what the hell, I'm going out!" I snapped at him, as we were rushed from every side with several different disinfectants.

I was vain. Very vain, so I knew the small cut wouldn't scar if I took care of it properly, but it would definitely be there tonight. Nothing Fibbs had in his lab would prevent that.

As we both stood, I caught a glimpse of a hidden smile; I couldn't help but think that was what he wanted all along.

I left the Barn after that, having the perfect excuse to get out of my work, and nobody bothered to stop me as I shuffled out.

I was halfway to my classroom when I pulled out my phone to message Belle. If she wasn't able to go out with me tonight, I'd have to find a very quick alternative.

 **To contact:** Beauty and the Beast  
-Want to go out tonight? I'm paying, you can pick the place. We can meet at 645. -

Normally I wouldn't allow the mission to be put in jeopardy by not controlling every aspect of it, but I wasn't sure what cammie would even be doing out in town. If I had to, I could guide our location once we were actually out on the town. Macey only told me the time, and it had to be enough for now.

It was about an hour before Belle responded back, the vibration of my phone against wood causing me to flinch.

 **From contact** : Beauty and the Beast  
-That sounds great. I was driving back into town and seen an advertisement for something called "Witches Brew at that diner we went to." -

 **To contact:** Beauty and the Beast  
-That sounds really great. Can't wait.-

I hoped witches brew wasn't as strong as it sounded, but it was very unlikely given how the mass majority of adults spent Halloween.

I allowed myself to be seen mingling with the staff before I slipped out and left. Every booth seemed to be filled with agents who knew me and wanted to talk about something I had done in the past (especially stuff I didn't want the kids to know; like how I had gotten the name Femme Fatal my first year on the job). I managed to prevent that specific story with a well placed kick to the IRS table leg, and I disappeared in that chaos.

Although it took every ounce of maneuvering and deception I was born with, I would have an alibi for every hour of the night if anything were to happen while I was away.

Even Cammie managed to make herself present, but her friends gave her exit away immediately and I followed discretely.

It was a mistake to stop at my room before I went, but I couldn't resist making sure I hadn't left anything lying around but my go-bag was packed and ready. I loved Rachel, but I would be gone the moment I needed to go. I didn't like lying, but I liked to be ready if I was ever caught.

A lone picture of Warren stood on my dresser. A laugh burst out forcefully as I remembered the circumstances of the photo.

We had been wrestling for the camera (I wouldn't stop taking pictures of him). with the amount of effort it took to pin him, I decided to take a picture while I straddled him.

I smiled again before pulling the door shut. Sometimes it was nice to see old photos and remember him, but sometimes it hurt to even hear his name spoken.

While walking down the hall I began humming a song I had learned to play on the piano 6 years ago. I never learned the words, and it had been for a mission, but it managed to pop up in my mind often enough that I hadn't forgotten the tune.

I found the change of clothes that Cameron had discarded in the tunnel, as well as the card with Max Edwards' name on it and I cringed hard. I hated the way career night also included recruiting kids who were nowhere near old enough to decide. Besides, Cameron was a CIA legacy, and nobody was going to recruit her while Rachel and I were around.

I could tell from the way the dust had settled again that Cameron was plenty far away. Maybe too far since I had made that stop in my room.

As I exited the passage, a thought crossed my mind. I pulled at my phone and called the number burned in my mind, I let it ring five times and hung up, repeating the process once more before I received a call back.

"Hello, Maxwell." I purred, and his deep laugh warmed me.

"Melantha. Always a surprise, and pleasure, to hear from you. " He replied.

I could almost imagine the scene unfolding, almost identical to one's in a spy movie. He would toss a casual glance over his shoulder to determine if he was alone, and then he would slink off to a dark corner.

"Are you finding Gallagher up to your standards?" I asked

I had no real reason for calling him, other than seeing his name has spurred something within me that I hadn't thought through.

"It's the same as every year; although I have to admit to you, I was looking forward to having you in my company again, yet I can't seem to find you at the school." He mused, as if he knew that I had no intentions of staying at the school on the first place.

"It seems we keep missing each other." I said, laughing a little, but his laughter didn't echo me.

"I never miss you." Maxwell told me, but I realized that the phone had cut short just moments before my reply, and I turned to see Maxwell Edwards standing at the mouth of the passage.

His dark hair was ruffled, like he had been running to catch up to me, but I hadn't heard a hint of labor in his breath.

"Hello Gallagher Girl." He breathed once we crossed the distance to each other; he hadn't called me that since our first assignment together (when I proved to him that Gallagher was more than a fancy title).

"Hello Blackthorne Boy." I whispered as I reached up to touch his cheek.

He had such dark features, and it complimented his handsome and mysterious personality. I wondered if he was as captivated with me as I was with him.

I smiled as I guided his lips down to mine. His response to the kiss was immediately; he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me as close to him as physically possible and tangled his free hand in hair. My reaction was very similar to his, but both of my hands found their way to his head. There was something about messing up his pretty boy hair that I couldn't resist.

It was when the kiss got steadier, slowing down to savor everything, that I pulled away from Maxwell.

"Come with me, Melantha." He offered, extending a hand that could be easily accepted, but I heard the hidden words, "forget whoever is waiting for you in town."

"I want to," I clarified before he finished the sentence, "but you can't."

I nodded softly; pretending not to see the hurt in his eyes as I left, and he pretended not see the uncertainty that always drove me away.

"I'll see you again, Gallagher Girl." He called across the short distance, but I didn't stop walking as I replied, "You'll only see me if I want you to, Blackthorne Boy."

The short interaction was engraved in my mind. Despite my attempt to go unnoticed, Max had noticed- he always noticed, but I knew that be wouldn't give my cover away. He proved his loyalty to me when convinced the Pope that I really was trying to save his life (as opposed to poisoning him).

He was in my head from then, even as I made it to the diner and seen Belle's car making its way down the street. I decided to wait out for her, smiling as she parked across the street and hurried over.

She looked marvelous, but a lot more casual than I was; the worry showed on her face that I forgot to mention a dress code.

"Sorry about this," I said gesturing to my clothing, "I have a twin sister and she needed me to play her double for a while."

Belle began laughing immediately, and pulled me into a hug. I could help but imagine it was Maxwell again, but she pulled away quickly.

"You must tell me the story." Belle said as we walked into the diner together.

The jukebox was playing a song from my teenage years, and a look to Belle told me she also knew it. I had never asked her age but I assumed she was only a year or two younger than me.

We picked a seat at the bar, sitting side by side; I had the best possible view of the windows, which was perfect for Cammie watching.

I knew Belle was waiting for me to tell her the story from the way she had turned her body completely to me, subconsciously showing that she was fully interested in the subject.

"My sister and I basically run a home school; mostly the kids of family friends, and she's sort of the principal I guess. Anyways, one of the single dads always schedule conferences with her to hit on her. She really didn't want to deal with him, so I dressed up as her and told him things she's too shy to say." I explained to her, trying to stick as close to the story as possibly.

Gallagher could be considered a home-school since our students were all sisters and Rachel would go to her grave being hit on by the dads of the students. However, Rachel was never too shy to say anything on her mind, but she wouldn't say what she normally would when a potential student was on the line.

"What's her name?" Belle asked, and my brain froze even though my mouth kept moving.

"Helen. My twins name is Helen, like Helen of Troy. Personally, I think she got the better name."

I smiled inwardly, glad that I had learned to go with the flow instead of depending on my brain for everything. A brain was a wonderful tool, but it could only get you so far as a spy; being a spy was 20% knowledge and 80% instinct.

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge. Clarice knew what she wanted and went after it despite being told she couldn't. Helen caused a war and allowed her people to be slaughtered but only protected herself ultimately." Belle replied, and I scoffed at her analysis of Helen.

"I suppose you're right, but I like her story. She can't really be blamed on her own, Paris can also be blamed, and a whole other bunch of males in her life. Helen is a survivor and she inspired a ten year war; that's a feat in itself, even though war isn't what we would consider to be a good legacy." I shot back playfully, causing Belle to laugh.

I started to laugh with her but I caught Cammie coming in and subtly faked a cough instead. Belle motioned the waitress over and the young girl listed off the specials for us. She looked to be a little older than Josh, and in her second trimester. I noticed the holes in her shoes, particularly at the heels and ripping at the seams.

"Does that sound good with you, Clarice?" Belle questioned me, like she was had noticed I was paying no attention to what she had ordered.

"I'd actually prefer some Cabernet Sauvignon, so you can just bring out a bottle of both." I answered her smoothly, but the waitress shifted uncomfortable on her feet and brought our attention back to her.

"I'm sorry, we're not allowed to sell bottles anymore. I can only bring you bottles out." She informed us quietly, expecting some sort of outrage as Belle and I shared a quick look.

"That's fine by me." Belle assured her and I nodded my agreement.

"I also have to tell you the individual prices of a glass; 35 dollars for pinot noir and 55 for the Cabernet."

A small smile plastered to my mouth as I realized how overpriced the drinks were, but the owner was definitely making his money back since he wasn't selling the bottles outright.

"That's fine, Ma'am." I said, and she nodded happily before hurrying away to the kitchen, nearly bumping into another waitress that was headed toward my nieces table.

"You know they're overcharging you for the drinks, right?" Belle asked, somehow interpreting my smile to the correct meaning.

"I didn't know you knew your wines. I'm not going to complain though; it's the company that's charging the price of a bottle for a glass, not the waitress." I answered honestly.

Besides, anger at the wrong person rarely got you anywhere in my line of business. In fact, it got you in trouble more often than not.

Banging on the diner window made Belle jump, and turn to the noise, catching the wild group of teenagers as the bombarded the restaurant. She rolled her eyes and turned to me again, but I kept an eye on them as they made their way to a jukebox. I didn't miss the two that stopped at Cammie and Josh's booth; they introduced themselves as Dillion and DeeDee.

It was easy to ignore them from there, especially since the blaring of popular chick song made it almost impossible to hear Belle speak. Even when our waitress walked back over with our drinks, I could only read her lips when she told us to call her over if we needed anything.

I could tell Belle was getting aggravated by the music, but it was over quicker than I thought it would be and I was able to overhear more of Cammie's conversation.

"It's a really snooty boarding school. The girls there are all rich delinquents or something."

Even though I only caught the last part of his sentence, I somehow knew he was speaking about Gallagher, and I was almost certain that Cammie was about to blow her own cover.

"Oh, really?" She asked as I asked Belle how her day at work was.

She immediately leapt into a story about her boss was a hack and had no business running a company.

"What? You don't, like, go there?" The Dillon boy asked, laughing so loudly that even Belle turned to see what the commotion was about.

"Is that your niece, Cameron?"

"Oh yea. I didn't even notice her." I lied, watching her and Josh exit the building.

I had to figure out a way to follow them now, and keep Belle with me as well as unsuspicious. I sighed inwardly as I thought about all of the schemes I had running. I had no idea how the prank had played out, or if it even had played out, and I had no clue if ATF was playing nice at the school (although I hadn't seen any spy parents crawling out of the cracks of town like last time) and I had no ideas about how to follow Cammie.

Being a spy was cruel and unnecessarily hard sometimes, but Belle smiled at me and I realized; I could always be a cute girl who couldn't speak an obscene amount of languages and was the affection of a infamous spy but was completely oblivious to the fact.


	37. Mistakes of the Mind

A/N: Hey! I'm totally going to pretend it hasn't been months since I last updated. Sorry :/ At least the next chapter is almost half way through though! I'm thinking this may only have 2-4 more chapters before its all wrapped up in a pretty little bow, but I'm working on the epilogue, and I think you're going to love it! Please let me know what you guys think! I'll post the next chapter as soon as I'm finished (this one has been done for a couple days, I've just been too lazy to actually post it).

Thanks for sticking with me! Enjoy!

~Shay

* * *

When 10 rolled around and I hadn't received an irritated call from Ray, I knew the prank had fallen through and the desperate looks from our server let us know that we were staying past our welcome.

Belle and I hadn't meant to stay that long, but the alcohol had us speaking more freely with each other, and had even tempted us into dancing to a song we both knew.

It was hard to have two left feet when I had trained with professional dancers of all groups, but I put on the best show I could manage- even colliding into Belle in move that nearly sent us to the floor.

While I paid the bill, Belle sauntered off to the restroom with a few smiles thrown my way as she made her journey. I just hoped she wasn't as naseous as I was, and that she wouldn't vomit while she was in there. Then the truth serum I had slipped into her last glass would be completely useless.

I couldn't help but laugh after her, despite being worried, and the waitress gave me a knowing grin. I immediately stuttered, the combination of surprise and a bit of alcohol making me slight less eloquent.

"Uh- yea, sorry about, yanno, staying so long." I said, and she counted the money I had given her.

"Oh, and keep the change. If the woman I'm with comes out of the bathroom while I'm gone, tell her I'm at the ATM."

There wasn't much change to begin with, and I could see her mute look of disappointment as I disappeared from the diner.

There was a machine right outside the doors, so I would be able to see if Belle came out. I hoped I would be done by then, I preferred people not to see me being kind.

I pulled out the largest amount of cash I could, and walked back into the diner as I fumbled for my wallet to put my card away. I had gotten more than a few wide eyes since I had started using my little black card, but I learned the best thing was to just move on and ignore it.

The waitress greeted me with a genuine smile, despite the fact that it was closing time and I had pretty much stiffed her on the tip. Or perhaps she thought I was too drunk to take her anger out on. It didn't matter to me either way.

I wadded up the cash and stuck it in her apron, not even letting her touch it.

"I know how hard it is when your pregnant and trying to make ends met. It's not much, but I hope it helps somehow." I explained, just as Belle came out of the bathroom and made her way toward us.

"Maybe not count it here." I added, while Belle was still out of ear-shot, but the waitress just stared, almost dumbfounded at how fast I went from tipsy to professional and then back again.

"You ready?" Belle asked, smelling strongly of mint.

The mint lead me to believe she had gotten sick on the bathroom, and that I'd have to get information from her some other way. It was hilarious that she was such a lightweight, but it made giving her a truth serum so much harder since it had a mildly intoxicating effect on some.

Belle yawned and I knew it meant the night was over. I was exhausted as well, so it wasn't too much of a disappointment when she turned to me and said as much.

We said our goodbyes as Belle was about to open her driver door when she stopped after a moment of not moving. Even though there was a bit of distance between us, it was as if I could feel her heart beating rapidly

"I know it's not quite Halloween yet, but, there's a haunted house just up the road. It's open for the week, I'll pay for us to get in. If you want to go." She offered, even pointing up the road where a line of people were spilling into the streets, and I could help but see hope in her eyes as I looked past her toward the crowd.

I thought about Sierra Leone and why the plan hadn't gone through; I couldn't help but feel something bad had happened, so I shook my head reluctantly as I looked at her again.

"One of my students messaged me while you were in the bathroom and she needs me. When you home-school kids, you become more of a friend or mentor than a teacher." I explained, lying so flawlessly that Belle smiled.

"That's okay, maybe we can go before they shut down, or we could do something else." She said, quickly letting me know that she knew haunted houses weren't really my scene.

I don't know what changed in the atmosphere but suddenly, very suddenly, Belle had leaned forward and was kissing me, knotting one of her hands in the buttons on my shirt to pull me closer.

I froze as I remembered two things. The man who had kissed me just hours before this moment, the man i had enjoyed kissing as much as I regretted it, and then the only other woman I had been with in my life. Sure, I had slept with and kissed plenty of women since Gail, but none had been for my own pleasure. They had all been for an assignment.

I didn't know who I was to be standing here, kissing this woman, leading her on. I definitely wanted to kiss her (and didn't mind doing it) but I knew a relationship would never work between us- and I couldn't help but feel as if I were cheating on someone by kissing two people in one day.

When had kissing become so complicated? I decided not to search for that bit of information in my mind, and focused back on Belle just as she pulled away.

"I'm... sorry, I realize now that I shouldn't have done that." Belle apologized, picking up on my stance as defensive rather than contemplative.

 _"I'm sorry, I realize now that I shouldn't have done that." Warren said, pleading for forgiveness with his eyes, but his words were just repeated from muscle memory._

 _"You didn't just steal a cookie from the cookie jar, Warren. You don't understand what you've done, what you've given her to use against me!" The was a pregnant pause in our yelling, "but of course I'll forgive you, I always do."_

I couldn't face Belle anymore, not even to tell her I wouldn't mind if she kissed me again, so I turned and left.

My biggest regret is how often Warren and I fought in the last year before he died. It was always over small things, and we always loved each other through it, but both of us were ready to pick a fight in a moments notice.

The walk home seemed more brutal than before, and I wondered if it was a sign that I kept walking away from the wrong things. Or maybe the heels had seen their share of bad nights and needed to be retired.

I reached for my phone and sent a message for Rachel to meet me in the P&E Barn. I needed to work off some tension, but I didn't want to see Joseph at the moment.

When the device buzzed immediately after I hit send, I instinctively knew it wasn't Rachel, and yet I couldn't stop myself from opening it.

 **From Contact:** Beauty and the Beast  
I am so sorry. I misread some things, but I hope you don't hate me, and we can still be friends. I enjoy talking about books and whatnot with you.

I just sighed in response, shoving the phone in my pocket and looking up at the star. They were especially beautiful tonight, but I couldn't remember a night that the stars hadn't seemed to look like diamonds to me.

I found out why Rachel didn't respond as I entered the gates of Gallagher. She was standing on the steps of the school entrance, standing with her arms crossed. I couldn't help but see the headmistress in her, but I also found the big sister who held Abby while she cried about us leaving to Gallagher without her.

I smiled to my big sister, but her face remained stony and I realized that maybe the prank _had_ gone through.

"Did you get my text?" I asked sweetly when I was within earshot.

"Just shut up." Rachel snapped and turned on her heel.

Rachel only scared me a handful of times, and this was one of them. So I bit down on my lip, and followed her to her office.

She didn't bother making small talk, or checking to see if I was following her. I knew Rachel was pissed; more pissed than just a harmless prank.

"Where were you tonight?" Rachel questioned me after we reached her office.

I took a seat across her desk, and waited for her to shut the door and sit in her chair.

"I was in town."

I knew at this point it was better to tell her the truth than pretend I had been at the Career fair the whole night.

"What were you doing in town?" She asked, pulling out a notepad and a red pen; I knew what she wanted.

"Clarice Ramirez, Russian nationality, she's a junior CEO at a popular martial arts studio that moonlights as a successful clothing business. They work a lot with police, outfitting them with athletic wear they can use on the streets but also training the rookies to be better fighters. No kids, not much of a family," I took a breath and watched Rachel's pen scratch words onto her pad.

"What's the nature of your relationship with the subject?" She asked, not bothering to look up as she wrote and I was glad she couldn't see the struggle in my eyes.

I didn't want to lie to her, but I didn't want my sister to know I had just kissed a woman and that my whole world was upside down at the moment.

"We're just friends."

Now she did stop writing, hurt shone on her face, and I knew I had just messed up somehow.

"I have information saying that you were caught in a compromising position with the subject." She said, her voice full of accusations she hadn't yet cast.

"You were spying on me?"

It wasn't a question, and Rachel realized her mistake; but I couldn't stop sifting through my memories. How many people had laughed at my cover story? That cop had definitely been a spy, maybe Charlotte, hell, even that waitress was becoming suspicious to me.

"For good reason, obviously." She replied just as venomously as I, "However, that's not what you're here for. That little stunt has every agency pissed off at a student. So you're going to sit here, and you're going to call every single director and apologize and take responsibility for your actions." She finished, sliding the phone over to me.

I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms, defiance etched in my features. I didn't like being told what to do.

"Which is it, headmistress, was I in a compromising position with the subject. Or was I in Gallagher, the mastermind behind some prank?" I questioned, and maybe I was going too far now, but I was too focused on the fact that she had been tailing me, watching every move and every breath.

"Do not play with me, Melantha. You already have a pink slip, don't work for a second one or you'll regret it." As she said this, she tossed a pink paper in my direction, I glanced down long enough to know what it was and the consequences.

A second pink slip revoked all privileges I received. No more random trips to town, I'd have to schedule each and every trip for the duration of the yard or until deemed rehabilitated. I would no longer be allowed to take students outside of the school, or use any of the experimental devices owned by Gallagher. The worst, I'd have to stick to a strict curriculum and write out a weekly planner for lessons, to be read by the headmistress and returned with critiques. I knew I couldn't live like that.

"Before you say anything, because I know how much you don't care about yourself and how self-destructive you are... If Sierra-Leone is found guilty by the administration of orchestrating and planning the prank, she will be stripped of all student earned titles and not allowed to participate in the running for Valedictorian or Salutatorian." She revealed, her voice more smooth now, perhaps she thought I was at the volatile stage of anger.

"It was me. I promised her that this was okay, she didn't know. It was meant to be a harmless prank, but from what you have been telling me, it got out of hand. I'll call everyone present tonight and apologize for any trouble I caused, and will fully reimburse them for any damages." I answered, my voice soft too, not because I my hand was being forced, but because I knew I needed to stop acting like Gallagher was just a fun stop in the journey, this was my home now.

"I'm sorry, Melantha," Rachel told me, standing from her chair after she gave me a notepad of numbers, but she paused before exiting the room, "if it makes you feel any better. I told Sierra-Leone everything I just told you. What she would lose, and she still maintained that she acted alone. I know it was you that taught her that, because last year, she would have tossed her best friend under the bus for an A."

She left the room, not seeing the smile grace my lips. That did make everything better I realized as I leaned forward and dialed the first number, an idea flickering like a light bulb in my head.

I think Sierra-Leone was destined to be my favorite senior.


	38. An Heiress and A spy walk into a shop

A/N: Hey! It only took me a month this time. lol, I'll try to get better. Should be around 5 or less chapters left and then the epilogue (Which I will post here and on BLYKM) that is currently 5k characters and counting.

A/NN: A bit nervous about this chapter. It moves faster than my others, but I'm ultimately satisfied with what I produced. Let me know what you think so I can adapt accordingly :)

A/NNN: Last one I promise, after this chapter, I'll be getting back into Rachel and Joe because I know they're well loved. I just have to develop Lanie's character without them, because she spent a lot of her adulthood away from them, so they don't know everything about her at the moment (unless they had their own spies watching out for her ;) )

Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

~Shay

* * *

The night before November 19th, I took my credit card and went to the closest grocery store in town to stock up on comfort foods.

The moment I stepped out of my car, people stopped to stare, but I wasn't in the mood for games or flirtation. However, most of them turned away when Macey fell into step beside me, looking every bit like a daughter.

She was almost the exact replica of me at the age, and as much as it amused me, it also terrified me. I knew what I had gone through to get to a mildly normal life, and even now I killed people for a living. I didn't want her to live her life like I had lived mine.

"Now, where it's polite to take off your sunglasses to speak to people it's also an intimidation tactic to keep them on. People get nervous when they can't see your eyes." I explained, but Macey was nodding- she already knew this.

Being the heiress of a multi-million dollar cosmetic company and well as a senator's daughter meant she knew all about intimidation and etiquette.

"It also works to make you look older, younger, and flirtatious. I want you to go buy a bottle of wine without getting carded." I said, and Macey stopped her fluid motion of nodding.

"That's going to be impossible. They card if they're even suspicious," Macey sighed, "not that I know from experience, it's just common practice." She added after seeing my eyes narrow.

It was a nice save, though obvious, but I let her win this one.

"I'm here to help you with anything you need. However, I'm also actually shopping, so you have some time to decide how you're going to do this." I revealed, grabbing a shopping cart to push around the store.

"Doesn't Gallagher provide teachers with food?" Macey questioned, a bit too loudly and we received sneers- I pulled my sunglasses off, daring one woman to say a word about Gallagher, but she turned away quickly.

"This is for something personal. For Rachel and Cameron." I admitted, and could practically see the cogs turning in her head.

"Is it the headmistress' birthday tomorrow?"

"No." I replied, swiping a variety of cake icing into the basket since Rachel and I both had a weakness for eating it out of the container.

"It's not _really_ Cammie's birthday is it?" She asked, panic flashing in her eyes as she doubted her memory.

I meant to meet Macey's eyes, and ask what she meant by " _really_ ," but they snapped up behind her on their own accord. She followed my gaze and the question was clear in her face when she turned back.

I shrugged and said, "Thought I seen someone cute," which Macey immediately believed and nodded her understanding.

Thankfully, the distractions got Macey off the topic of why we were here, because I didn't want to tell her, but I could almost hear other questions in her head before she spoke.

"Who was your last relationship?" She wondered aloud, but I knew it wasn't rhetoric.

"I don't really do relationships." I said honestly, but her eyes narrowed.

"Weren't you married?" Macey asked, watching me carefully

"Not to Joseph." I replied back, pretending to examine the label on a bag of chips.

She didn't say anything else to me until we were standing in front of the ice cream.

"He has a brother?" She asked, her eyebrows crunching together as she worked out what appeared to be a complex puzzle.

I stared hard into the chocolate container, wondering how far Macey would push.

I was so intent on not focusing on Macey, that I didn't even notice another person walk up.

"Clarice?"

I gave myself a moment to think by dropping the ice cream on the floor, hoping she thought it was because I was caught off guard, but I didn't even try to pretend Macey wouldn't see it for what it was. I was flustered and didn't have the answer exactly when I needed it. I had traded one awkward conversation for another.

Belle reached down swiftly and picked it up, handing it to me, not seeing the look I gave Macey in the process.

"Belle! I've been meaning to message you; I just didn't know what to say." I explained, though I knew the explanation was a terrible one.

I could only hope that Macey's presence would force Belle to rethink how the conversation should go.

"Apparently you've stunned her into losing her manners. My name is Macey, I'm her daughter." Macey introduced, purposefully forgoing her last name, leaving that detail for me to fill in.

Despite her quick thinking, Macey landed me in an even bigger hole of deception. Clarice Dominique had no children to speak of, none on any official records. At least Macey seemed to realize her mistake when Belle's panic set over her face.

"I had no idea you were with someone." She began looking mildly hurt, and Macey and I both attempted to cut her off with varying explanations.

"I'm her god daughter!" Macey interjected at the same time that I said, "She's my adopted daughter."

My eyes closed quickly and I sighed, finally coming to my senses and quieting Macey with a motion in her direction.

"That best friend I told you about. She was a couple years older than me, and this is her daughter. I'm Macey's godmother yes, but I adopted Macey when I was 20."

Macey was nodding her agreement with my storey, and I hoped that the relief I could see in Belle's eyes meant she wouldn't look too far into the story and see the cracks lying there.

"So... you're not seeing anyone?" She asked, rubbing the back of her neck roughly, showing both Macey and I how nervous she was about this whole situation.

I was too busy staring behind her to answer, and even Belle noticed. She turned slightly, beginning to look for the distraction but I reached out quickly, and touched her arm, pulling her attention back to me before she could turn completely.

"I was married, but I'm not anymore. So, no, I'm not seeing anyone."

Her eyes flashed down to my hand, zeroing in on the ring, but I cut off the conversation before we could go on too long. Twice I had seen the same person, glancing casually toward us. The first time, I could pin on someone looking like him, the second time; I would be a fool of a spy to pretend it was anyone else.

"I'm sorry Belle, Macey and I have to get going. We have dinner reservations with my other sister, and we can't be late, but I'll call you when I get the chance." I supplied, grabbing Macey by the arm a little too roughly for it to be anything other than forceful.

"Of course, I'll talk to you later. It was nice meeting you, Macey."

I was in such blind panic, that I was pushing Macey ahead of me before she could get a polite goodbye in. It was too late for us to separate, the tail had seen us together twice, and I just hoped it wasn't too late for Belle. I couldn't worry about her right now, not when I had this child with me.

"Macey, I need you to listen and not question me. I'm going to be driving, fast, to Gallagher. You jump out and get into the school as fast as you can. If I'm not back in an hour, not a minute less than an hour, you go to Rachel and tell her I'm in trouble. I should be fine, I'm almost certain that nothing is going to happen but..,"

It didn't look like she was keeping up with me so I stopped talking long enough to bump the food cart away from us as she caught up.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to help you," when it was clear I was going to object vehemently she continued quickly, "I either help you, or I'll go to the Headmistresses immediately screaming about Belle and the guy following us."

If I had any doubts that Macey was meant to be a spy, they were squashed right there. She knew something was up with Belle, and she picked out a trained operative who had worked personally beside me for years. I held her gaze, not moving, trying to pass the danger of the situation to her, but she didn't budge.

I nodded my begrudged agreement. It was very unlikely that either of us would get injured, but I never underestimated any of my past coworkers- even if they were of the sub-par variety.

She and I both walked to the front of the store, walking as laid back as we had when we first entered, but there was something tense in Macey's shoulder; something that would give our advantage away to our follower, or followers, though I had only noticed one.

We reached the car without incident, but I knew dead silence could be just as bad as a fire fight; I had learned that much from experience.

"Who is following us?" Macey asked as I drove us away from the school, trying to determine if I had a tail still.

"I'd have to tell you a whole story, to explain that." I revealed, but she wasn't letting go that easy.

"I'm going to assume we have plenty of time for it." She cracked back, her eyes flicking to my rearview mirror instead of looking at me.

She was probably doing her best to avoid antagonizing me, which meant she desperately wanted an answer. I would have to give her one. I couldn't put her in danger like this, driving like a madwoman in the shadiest parts I could find in this forsaken town, and expect her to keep her mouth shut about it at Gallagher.

"What I'm going to tell you, nobody knows. Not Rachel or Joseph, not my Husband and not even the CIA. If you let this get out, a lot of people will die, including me. Do you understand?"

When she didn't reply, I spared a glance from my surrounding to peak at her. She had gone visibly pale, but she nodded when she noticed my gaze. I just hopped she wouldn't change her opinion of me, and that she knew how sorry I was for dragging her into this mess.

So I told her the story from start to finish. How Gail found me when I was 16 and desperate to be free of Rachel who thrived at school while I struggled, and how Gail had made me feel like I was the most important person in the world and took advantage of my nativity to get me into bed with her. I made it clear that I went to bed with Gail willingly from the start, but that Gail had definitely gotten into my head because I didn't know any better. I told her about Kile, he and I escaping together after Gail sent Sonny to teach me a lesson, and how I almost died that night- the first time my life had ever been threatened.

I was scared to look at Macey, scared to see the face of myself as young as she was. After I signed with Gail, I stopped being allowed to be a child, she took the best years of my life and warped them into something sinister, and I had to live with it now. I couldn't help but see Macey the same way. Living in the shadows of her parents, doing better in school to get them to see her and not the girl she pretended to be.

"They guy following us, is it Kile?" Macey asked, and the cold laughter that escaped my throat was unstoppable.

"No, he's dead now. The man following us is Sonny. He's a prick who hated me from the first time we met. He's always been willing to grovel at Gail's feet and fall into bed at her any command, but she always wanted me. She still wants me more than she wants him, and he can't stand it. He's not a good person Macey, and he's seen you with me." I explained, and she nodded slowly, processing the information.

"What about Belle? Didn't he see her?" She questioned

I could almost laugh. She put on the persona of caring only for self-satisfaction but it was very likely that Macey was one of the kindest people I had met in my years.

"She should be fine, but I'm going to call her later and make sure. It's very likely that he assumed she was just being polite and picking up the ice cream for me. Sonny always did like to underestimate me." I soothed, noticeably slowing down when we had gone miles without even an inkling that someone was behind us.

"I thought Gail is supposed to leave you alone now? Why is she sending people after you?" Macey wondered aloud, obviously asking me the question.

"I can answer part of that. I had an apprentice named Victoria. She's still stuck with Gail because Gail doesn't play by the rules of her own contracts. I agreed to go meet with them, but never told them when. I have to assume Sonny was sent here to threaten me, or to check up on me. I think we're safe, but I don't want to take any chances."

It was enough of an explanation. Macey didn't need to know that Gail was trying to loop me into another contract or why I was waiting to meet them.

The way we took back to Gallagher was long, driving inconspicuously around the town, avoiding any roads that I might normally take until we arrived back at the mansion, the day already in swing. I was definitely feeling emotions I always did my best to suppress, and I needed a stiff drink. The only upside from that was that Rachel probably needed one too, and maybe even Cameron if Rachel was willing.

"Mrs. Solomon-"

"Lanie," I cut her off, "you can call me Lanie when we're not at school."

"Lanie…" She trailed off, trying to find the right words, "you're more than what you act like, and everyone knows it." She revealed, unbuckling her seat-belt even though I was still pulling into the garage.

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning the car off, but making no move to get out; this was interesting.

"You're like me. You have a persona, a, forgive me, bitch persona and you try to enforce it. We can see through it, or, at least the senior's can- and I can. I'm not saying this right, let me start over. After you telling me this, it just confirms what everyone already thinks. You've had a hard life and you're scared to be open, but you're a genuinely nice person if you're able to be." Macey told me, and exited the car as I sat there stunned in my seat.

Sometimes at night, I stared at my go-bag, wondering if I should run. Being a teacher was not on my life plan, and I firmly believed I couldn't gain anything from being here, and that I was only here so Rachel could keep an eye on me but I was wrong. There was a lot I could learn from these girls, and I had only scratched the surface of it.


End file.
